Lost Generation
by whatsyourpathology
Summary: Two years after Mariemaia's failed rebellion, despite continuing her work as the Vice-Foreign Minister of ESUN, Relena has turned 18 and must attend university. Heero has drifted through the post-war years listlessly and has now been conscripted to act as her bodyguard while she's in school. I know, not the most original premise but I think I have a few good stories to tell.
1. Aftermath

**Preface**

There was a time when I was younger than the characters in Gundam Wing. Now I am even older than Treize, and have accomplished far less. How is that I keep coming back to this work, this fandom, and these _two_ in particular? How things have changed yet things have stayed the same. The understated nature of their relationship, the endless possibilities, the sheer sparseness of their canon interactions that makes your imagination go wild. It has recently come to my attention that while I've been writing fanfiction for years, I have yet to properly write a story about these two in particular, in many ways my original OTP. So here's to them, the stoic warrior and the pacifist princess, and here's to you, the eternal fandom, 20 years later.

 _Aftermath_

"Finally, it's over…"

Her voice faded as oblivion took him. He hung on desperately to the gentleness of her touch and the heat of her body but if this was the end for Heero Yuy, child soldier, revolutionary, terrorist, Gundam pilot, he was satisfied. After all, he had completed his mission, Mariemaia's insurrection had been defeated, peace was once again secured, and the colonies and the Earth Sphere under _her_ guidance would undoubtedly prosper. It was time to die.

And yet he didn't.

Heero didn't believe in God or an afterlife. He had tolerated Duo's ramblings on such matters before but it seemed like a method of coping with his war crimes more than an actual profession of faith. In any case, Duo himself was pretty sure that he was beyond redemption. And if Heero was forced to have an opinion, he had to concur. When he first registered the blinding lights that engulfed his vision, for a brief second, he wondered if he had actually been wrong. Perhaps there was a god and this was judgement day. But as his other senses returned to him, he quickly gathered that he was in a hospital.

It was the bedsheets that tipped him off, followed by the soreness in his throat caused by the endotracheal tube. He immediately sat up, pushing through the effects of the morphine and stabilized himself on the rails of his bed, as he waited for his sense of balance to recover. He tore the tube out of his throat and coughed a few times, spitting out blood.

"Hey, take it easy!" A nurse said as he turned his attention to Heero.

"Where am I? What happened?" Heero asked frantically.

"Where do you think you are?" The nurse asked back sarcastically. "You're in a hospital. Relax, you're safe."

Heero lifted his right hand only to find that he had been handcuffed to his bed.

"Okay, well yeah… about that…" The nurse said nervously as he scratched the back of his head.

Heero remained still for a second as his mind began to process the information at hand. He tried to fill in the blanks. He looked around the room for a clock but couldn't find one. There were no windows so he couldn't determine what time of day it was or how long he had been out. Next he tried to weigh himself by memory. But after a few seconds he realized that it didn't matter. He leaned his head back against the pillow and resigned himself to his fate. He remembered his final thoughts as Relena cradled him in the ruins of the presidential bunker.

His mission was complete.

Come what may.

"Hey, you were in the battle?" The nurse asked after Heero had calmed down.

"Yeah," Heero replied absently.

"When they brought you in, you weren't wearing a uniform…"

Heero took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He knew where this was going.

"Yes… I am…"

"Jesus Christ," the nurse remarked in astonishment. "You're just a kid."

"It's been a long time since I've felt like one," Heero said.

"Are… are all of you Gundam pilots…?"

"I can't answer that."

"Right, of course," the nurse said as he looked away embarrassed.

The room fell into silence. Heero observed his surroundings and submerged himself with the ambient noise of the hospital on overdrive. There must have been thousands of injured civilians and soldiers alike just outside his door. He wondered as to why he was handcuffed. He wondered if he should run while he had the chance. But where would he run to? He had nowhere else to go. This was the end of the line for him.

"If it makes you feel any better, I'm sure they'll make me spill all my secrets when they put me on trial."

"Oh, don't be so dramatic," a familiar voice said as the door opened.

Heero looked to find Noin and Une, still in their Preventers uniforms. They looked a little dishevelled, Une in particular. She still sported that fine coat of dust and debris on her jacket and her hair. It must have only been a couple of hours since he passed out.

"If you were really in trouble, do you think we would just lock your hand with a single handcuff?" Une said as she made her way over to Heero's bedside and uncuffed him.

"I was wondering about that," Heero said as he rubbed his wrist.

"You're a hero," Noin said with a warm smile.

"I'm no hero," Heero replied.

"Could we please have the room to speak privately?" Une said to the nurse.

"Of course!" The nurse said as he made his prompt exit.

Noin did a quick scan of the hallway before closing the door firmly shut and nodding to Une.

"No, you're not a hero," Une said as she sat down on the chair next to Heero. "I think you're smart enough to know what's probably going to happen next."

"Dekim is dead, the ESUN Court of Justice isn't going to prosecute a seven year old girl for war crimes. They'll be looking for scapegoats," Heero said.

"We're working on it right now," Une explained. "The fact is the Gundam pilots are popular with the public right now at least the idea of them are. They don't know who you guys are yet. We want to get ahead of this, put a face to the heroes."

"So that the Court of Justice can't touch us," Heero interrupted. "I got it. And I'm not interested."

"Look, it's not likely that they'll pin all of this on you, or Trowa, or even Wufei," Une said in her soft voice. "But they'll get you for something. The political climate is changing, the year of jubilee is over and it ended with a nightmare. The politicians are on the move. There's going to be a crackdown. You think you can come out of that witch hunt unscathed? You know how many people you've killed?"

"No."

"Neither do I. Frankly, we've lost count," Une continued. "But if they start investigating that. If they start poking around your history, I mean your deep history, incidents prior to Operation Meteor I mean. They'll get something and you're likely to spend the rest of your life in prison."

"I'm not afraid of prison," Heero said sternly.

"Of course not, it's not a question of being afraid," Une said, maintaining her composure. "It's about your life. Your future."

Heero stared blankly at his hands as they gripped the railing. That word inspired dread in him. _Future_ , what does that even mean? It's what he had been fighting for. But it wasn't his to take. He was conditioned for war and death, not the future. He hadn't received any training on the future. It was irrelevant. And now that it was here, he was unprepared.

"I have no future," he answered stoically.

"You do," Noin cut in. "If you want it."

"And if I don't?"

"Relena would be sad."

Relena; Noin and everyone else's favourite stick to poke him with. He could never figure out why they keep prodding him with her. As far as he could tell he had never shown the slightest interest in her other than for the most tactical of reasons. Yet, he had to admit, her name inspired something in him. Every time.

"Where is she?"

"Damage control with the president," Noin answered. "She's busy at the moment. You can understand that."

"She's safe?"

Noin nodded.

Heero breathed a muted sigh of relief. He yanked the IV's out of his arm and jumped out of bed, startling Une a bit. He stripped off his hospital gown in front of them without a second thought, took his regular clothes from the couch opposite his bed, still smelling charred concrete and gunsmoke, and began to get dressed.

"The war is over," Heero said absently as threw on his shirt. "It's no time for heroes, it's time to move on."

Heero approached the door. Noin stood in his way.

"Am I free to go?" Heero asked.

"You've been running your whole life," Noin said. "You don't have to run anymore."

"Is that it?"

Noin looked to Une. Une responded with a nod of resignation.

"Yeah," Noin said softly, disappointedly, as she stepped aside.

He opened the door. But just before he stepped out, he said, "Running is the only thing I know how to do now."

* * *

 _Three months later_

She felt more anxious than she expected as the road ahead and the trees off in the distance became more familiar. Memories, long suppressed, came flooding back into her mind. Memories of fire, death, and loss, plagued her thoughts as she rode silently and patiently with her mother, Noin, and Quatre in the back of her white stretch limo.

The ride had been quiet. Despite Relena's attempts at making the visit seem casual, everyone understood the gravity of the situation. Visiting the ruins of the Peacecraft Royal Palace was not another day trip with her friends and family. It was her chance for closure and perhaps a chance to start something new.

The serenity of the abandoned estate belied the tragedies that had occurred there. Beneath the overgrowth and the picturesque landscape of crumbling statues and derelict foundations was a history of blood and war. The Peacecraft family had inhabited those grounds and lead the Sanc Kingdom for many generations. Now there was nothing left but their memories.

Relena stepped out of the limo as soon as it came to a complete stop. She didn't wait for Pagan to come around and open the door for her. She was ready, she had been since the end of Mariemaia's coup. Being down there in the bunker with that poor misguided little girl, staring at her own morality in the face, she had come to sympathize and even relate to Treize's daughter. In many ways they were alike. Both Relena and Mariemaia came from illustrious families, had great expectations placed upon them, and were used as symbols by ambitious and corrupt men.

She thought when the Eve Wars ended, that that chapter of her life had come to an end and that she could put her Peacecraft past behind her. It wasn't until she saw Heero on the monitor in that bunker did she realize how much she had been running away.

This was her chance to stop running. She couldn't pretend that she wasn't a Peacecraft anymore. Not after what had just happened. She would never be free to live her own life if the shadows of the Sanc Kingdom and her Peacecraft lineage was always lurking, always close. No, she needed to do this, to be here and confront the memories of her long dead father and the ideals that he had died for. The ideals she still upholds today.

"How many times has this nation burned?" Relena whispered to herself as she stared at the abandoned palace.

"Each time it arises once more from the flames," Noin said as she made her way around to limo to join Relena. "You would do well to remember that Miss Relena."

"She's right," Quatre said. "And all things considered, the damage isn't too bad. I think I can get this place up and running well within a year."

"Thank you so much for doing this," Relena said as she turned to face Quatre.

"Hey, it's no problem," Quatre said as he scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. "We, we all owe you and your family a great debt."

"Don't think of it that way," Relena said kindly. "We all did our part. The truth is, this is more for me than it is for the world."

"Of course," Quatre replied with a accomodating smile.

Relena watched as Quatre and Noin wandered off to inspect the insides of the building. Relena waited for Pagan to help her mother out of the car before they made their way towards the house. Once inside, Relena was overwhelmed by emotion. This place, covered in moss and filled with squirrels, birds, and foxes, brought back memories both real and imagined. It was at once familiar and completely foreign, overwhelming and comforting. The echoes of her footsteps rang through the crevices and alcoves the Great Hall, announcing to her animal subjects that the rightful princess had returned.

"Are you sure about this?" Her mother asked as she followed closely behind.

"Yes, I think it is time," Relena answered. "This was my father's home, I should like to live in it for at least a little while."

"I think he would like that," her mother agreed with a warm smile. "King Peacecraft was a wonderful man."

Relena stopped and turned to look at her mother. She reached out and gave her a long and loving hug.

"Thank you," Relena whispered as her voice trembled. "For everything."

"Oh my dear," Relena's mom whimpered, feeling her daughter's affection. "I am so proud of you. As would your father."

They made their way silently through the crumbling decaying stonework, through the Ballroom and the Dining Room.

"I remember this place," Relena's mother commented.

Relena, a little astonished, turned to look at her mother.

"What was it like?" Relena asked.

"It was marvelous, absolutely marvelous," her mother said with a nostalgic smile. "You'll make it marvelous again."

"I hope so."

"I do hope that you'll come visit me even after you move here," Relena's mother joked, changing the mood of their conversations.

"Well, it is quite a big house," Relena said jokingly. "I'll get lonely."

"You can pop by any time you like."

"To be honest, I'll probably stay with you in the summers and just use this place as a winter residence," Relena said with a giggle. "It's a little ridiculous really, having two large mansions to jump back and forth between. Both inherited no less, one from my adopted father the other from my biological one. I'm not spoiled am I?"

"No, of course not," Relena's mother said as she lovingly stroked the girl's hair. "Well…. not anymore at least. Now if you asked me this question two years ago."

"Oh, stop it," Relena said as she stuck out her tongue at her mother.

Her mother laughed. "You know, you have more than just this palace right?"

"What?"

"The Peacecraft family had estates all over the Sanc Kingdom, at least a dozen more if I recall correctly."

"How is that possible?" Relena asked in pure astonishment.

"Your father was a king…" her mother explained incredulously. "And you thought the Darlians were rich. You're a real princess now, my girl."


	2. False Starts

**Author's Note**

I know I just updated yesterday and maybe the story hasn't had a chance to settle yet but admittedly there is a lot of set up so I just wanted to get that stuff out of the way first. But really, I'm just enthusiastic and from my experience, people don't really mind quick updates.

 _False Starts_

 _Buenos Aires, Argentina_

 _March 30th, AC 198_

"You know who I am?"

The man squeezed his eyes closed and held his breath. He hoped, _he prayed_ , that when he opened them, that none of this would be happening, that his was all just a bad trip. He promised himself that if he made it through this, he was done with meth for good. Or cocaine for that matter. He would be on the straight and narrow from then on.

No such luck.

He opened his eyes. He was still there, head pinned against the bar, bleeding from his mouth, watching through his blurred vision as the club was being emptied of all of its patrons. Black uniforms everywhere, faceless men carrying semi-automatic rifles. The kinds that he used to boost from ESUN transports and sell to local drug dealers. The music had stopped and the lights had been turned on. It was funny, because he had been to this establishment more times than he could count. He even knew the owner. But he had never seen the place this... bright.

He focused on his breathing, something he should've paid more attention to in yoga class instead of staring at the blonde's ass that came every Tuesday and Thursday. His shoulder was still in pain, his wrist in more, but at least he had regained his ability to breathe. There was still something cold and hard pinned against his temple. But at least he had regained his ability to breathe.

"I'll ask again. Do you know who I am?"

"You're… you're a Preventer," he managed to stutter out.

"Good, you know who I am," Noin said as she dug her pistol deeper into the man's skull. "Then you know Preventers don't work stolen property. So maybe you should ask yourself; what did I do or who did I piss off to get a Preventer on my ass?"

She could feel the man quake underneath the pressure of her gun and her questions. She could see the sweat dripping from his nose, intermixing with the small puddle of blood on the bar surface.

"Where is he?"

* * *

 _The Valknut, Preventers Headquarters_

 _Brussels, Belgium_

 _8 hours earlier_

"Yeah, I think I know the guy."

An effortless smile appeared on Noin's face as she stared at her monitor and leaned back against her chair. She gently rocked back and forth, tapping her finger against her coffee mug, at once feeling satisfied and amused yet annoyed. _Odin Lowe._ She was staring at the mugshot of a man who died ten years ago. She remembered hearing about him through the grapevine back from her days in OZ. He was something of a legend, from the days before OZ scrapped its Clandestine Services Division.

But this was not the man she was looking for. Indeed, only a few people even knew of this man's name and most of them took that knowledge with them to the grave during the Eve Wars. There could only be one person still using that name. And he went by another name, also stolen.

"This doesn't make any sense," the man on the monitor said, looking utterly confused. "He doesn't match the physical description we got at all. Unless he was lying…"

"No, I don't think he was lying," Noin countered as she took a sip of her coffee. "I just think Mr. Lowe here has a few tricks up his sleeve."

"I'm completely lost," the man said.

"He likes it that way," Noin said with a muted chuckle. "I'm going to send you a photo and a list of aliases. Cross reference them with the municipal and territorial databases. You'll find him."

"Wait, what about you? What are you going to do?"

"I'm coming to see you."

* * *

 _Buenos Aires,_

 _The next day_

Heero balanced the bag of groceries between his chest and his left arm as he fiddled with his keys in his right hand to open the door. He kicked the door shut as soon as he was in. By sheer instinct, he immediately dropped his bag of groceries, reached underneath the bench next to his shoes, and pulled out the .38 pistol he had taped underneath. He charged into his living, pointing the gun forward. He didn't even know who was in his apartment, merely that his senses told him that something was off.

"Jesus Christ…" The words slipped out of Heero's mouth.

He found his partner, Hugo, sitting on his reading chair, bloodied and bruised. But before he could react a hand reached out, grabbed the barrel of his gun, and forced it downward. He had a split second choice, roll with the gun and be thrown on his back, hold on and resist and probably break his fingers, or let go. He wasn't about to be disarmed in this situation so he chose to roll.

As soon as he landed on his back, Heero opened his eyes and looked up. A familiar face stared back at him.

"Hmm… missed one," Noin said as she stood over him, and with a swift yank, took the gun from Heero.

Noin tossed the gun onto the dining room table with the rest of them.

"You keep two guns under your foyer bench?" Noin asked casually.

"No one ever checks for the second one," Heero answered with a hint of a smile.

"I'll be sure to remember that, next time."

Heero took a moment to push himself up off the ground. Noin paced around his apartment looking at the life Heero had created for himself since she last saw him in the hospital after the Battle of Brussels. It was quite impressive. His walls were adorned with prints of famous Argentine and Chilean painters, his furniture was an eclectic mix of American Empire and mid-century modern, he had quite the collection of books and music, and he even had a couple of violins on display. It made him almost seem… human.

"So, I'm assuming your men have surrounded the building," Heero casually commented.

"You're getting rusty," Noin said as she shot him a devious smile from across the room.

"You know I can still get out of here."

"Let's not make a big thing of it," Noin said as she browsed his bookshelf. "But no, you can't."

Heero took a second to ponder what that meant.

"Hey, Wufei," he said.

There was a brief moment of silence.

"Hey," a familiar voice came in through the radio on Noin's belt. "Nice shirt."

"What do you want, Noin?" Heero asked as he took a seat on his couch.

Noin looked at Hugo and gave him a nod. Hugo clamped his hands together in gratitude before getting up and running as fast as he could out of Heero's apartment.

"Is that what this is about?" Heero asked. "A few stolen diamonds?"

"You make it sound like you're not breaking the law," Noin commented as she continued to browse his books.

"What do you guys care? Since when do a few stolen diamonds constitute a threat to world peace?"

"You know, I knew you would get bored," Noin said as she turned to face Heero.

She grabbed a book off of his bookshelf and sat down on another couch across from Heero. She reclined into the leathery seat, crossed her legs, leaned her head back, and closed her eyes. For a moment, she enjoyed the breeze from the open window next to her.

"But I can see why you like it here," she continued. "The weather, oh my god, the weather here. And the beaches. Heaven on earth. Paradise."

"A backwater where ESUN is concerned, a few branch offices of the territorial government. I don't have you people breathing down my neck. I count that as a benefit."

"You know how we found you?" Noin asked as she flipped through the pages of the book in her hand.

"Because Hugo's an idiot."

"You need better people," Noin said with a chuckle, not looking up from the book. "The local police picked him up at a food truck, hours after the job. He dropped your name as soon as they stuck him in the interrogation room, _Mr. Lowe_."

"The name came up in the database, got referred to the South American branch of the Preventers, which then got to you, yeah I think I got it," Heero said as he tried to hide his impatience.

"Why do you use that name?" Noin said as she leaned forward. "Did you want to get caught?"

"As you said, maybe I'm bored. Maybe, I needed it to be a little more challenging."

"Not the best use of your skills."

"If you haven't noticed, there aren't exactly many wars these days. I've had find other ways to apply my trade."

"It seems like you've made quite the life for yourself here," Noin said as she looked around once more at his apartment. She then picked up the file that she had left on his coffee table and began to flip through it. "You have a job, software engineer, some hobbies, teaching jiu-jitsu and violin at the local community center..."

Heero remained silent.

"A girlfriend?" Noin said with genuine surprise. "Wait til I tell Relena about this."

"She would be happy for me."

"I'm sure you're right about that. But you and I both know better. This is an act. This is all a charade. It's just you running, I found the sleeping pills in your bathroom. Did you tell your girlfriend about that? Does she know anything about you? _Mr. Matsuda_ ," Noin asked as she dropped the file onto his table. "How long do you think you can keep this up?"

Heero looked away.

"What do you want from me?"

"The diamonds for starters," Noin said as she leaned back once again. "You can't steal the governor's diamonds and expect to keep them once you've been caught."

"Is that it?"

"No," Noin said sternly as her voice grew more serious. "I have a mission for you."

"I don't work for you people."

"You won't work at all if I turn you over to the local authorities," Noin said sharply. "Is that what you want? To spend the rest of your life in prison? I feel like we've had this conversation before."

"What's the mission?"

"Relena―"

"No."

"Heero, you're going to have to deal with this eventually."

"There's nothing to deal with."

"Really?" Noin said incredulously as she leaned back and folded her arms across her chest. "A year later, halfway across the world. Stealing diamonds because you're bored. You put enough distance between you and her yet? Yeah, clearly you have nothing to deal with. You once told me, _the war is over, time to move on_. Well… time to move on."

Heero looked down and said nothing.

"Don't pick prison over her," Noin said softly. "She doesn't deserve it. Neither do you. Don't pick prison because life has been about hardship and pain for you. Just because it has been doesn't mean it always will be. Don't pick prison because Relena makes you feel something you've never known and don't know how to deal with. Let go of the war. You don't have to be defined by it forever."

"She doesn't want to see me."

"You don't know that…" Noin said. "Anyways, think about it at least. It's nothing complicated. Relena's going to be attending Vustgaarde University in the fall. She insists that she doesn't want a full security detail while she's in school. She wants to be… _normal_."

"That's unwise."

"Exactly, that's where you come in. We'll get you enrolled, you watch her, take the classes she takes, vet the people she interacts with, try not to blow your cover."

"She'll make me immediately."

"Hm," Noin chuckled as she closed her eyes and shook her head. "You sad fool. She'd love a chance to go back to school with you there. Relive all those memories from when she was fifteen. Besides, it doesn't matter if she knows. She's not stupid, she'll figure it out immediately. What's important that they don't know!"

Heero sat there, staring at the file, mentally reliving those memories, the early days of Operation Meteor, when he swore that he would kill her. How foolish he was then, how single-minded and arrogant. Perhaps he was single-minded and arrogant still.

"Anyways, as I said, think about it," Noin said as she got up to leave. "And return the diamonds."

* * *

 _Vustgaarde, Sanc Kingdom_

 _August 9th, AC 198_

She lay in her bed awake, staring up at the light fixture above her. She hated it. That was something she had to fix when she moved in. Despite that, everything else about the place was great. It was small enough that she could run it without any help, but large enough that she didn't feel claustrophobic. The three storey townhouse was located a mere ten minutes walk away from the university. It was absolutely perfect. She had been dreaming of the day when she would be able to return to school.

It wasn't that she didn't enjoy her work as the liaison between the Colonies and the Earth Sphere Unified Nation. She did and she understood that it was important. But sometimes, she did miss her previous life. She missed worrying about homework, and getting good grades, and giggling with her girlfriends over boys. All of that seemed so light and simple compared to negotiating asteroid mining rights and settling trade zone disputes. In many ways she was ill-prepared for the job that she had been inadvertently thrust into by right of birth and circumstance. There was much she didn't know and much she could gain from an university education. She was excited at that prospect of taking some political science courses to solidify her knowledge and expand her horizons. But she also enthusiastic about the prospect of learning something new, exploring other aspects of herself that she had so long neglected. She was a Peacecraft and a Darlian, diplomacy ran through her veins. But what else was she?

She got out of bed and quickly got dressed. It seemed odd to her that the landlord not only allowed her to view the space privately but also to spend the night. Perks of being a public official, she surmised. She appreciated the opportunity and only accepted the invitation because she was pretty sure that she was going to rent it anyways. Truthfully, she could've probably bought the whole row of townhouses but she didn't want the trouble. She wasn't looking to become a property magnate. She was already overseeing way too many construction projects as it was. The Peacecraft Royal Palace also almost complete but not quite yet. Neither she nor Quatre took into account the labour shortages. But in hindsight it was obvious, considering how many young men had given their lives to the war. Still it was almost complete and she had been living in the west wing of the palace for a couple of months now. But even if it was finished, she didn't plan on spending much time there during the school year. She was busy enough already, managing the construction and redevelopment plans for the other Peacecraft estates, her career with the world government, and school coming up in the fall. She couldn't afford to waste time being shuttled to and from her secluded countryside princess palace.

She sat in front of her vanity and brushed her hair. She hadn't done that in quite some time. Truthfully, she enjoyed it. Being waited on hand and foot was nice but she liked the feeling of being independent, knowing that she was in control of her own life. Even if it was something as simple as doing her own hair and makeup. Her plan was to live as simply as possible during school year (except during exams). She knew that this may be the last time in her life that she would get to feel normal and she didn't want to squander the moment with servants and security. In fact, she had Pagan running the day to day operations of the Royal Palace so she would be all alone in her new townhouse. She did however plan to have a maid come and clean her place twice a week. _Baby steps_ , she thought.

She cooked herself breakfast in the kitchen and even managed to clean up afterwards. She was quite proud of that fact. Sure, all she did was scramble some eggs and sprinkle in some salt and cut up an apple, but considering that she had never made a meal in her life, she counted it as one of her most important accomplishments. She savoured every moment of the meal. Despite its simplicity, or perhaps because of it, it was absolutely delicious. She imagined her life a month from now, could this be it? Could she imagine herself, sitting at the kitchen counter legs dangling, in her boyshorts and a tank top, with her tablet, her pens and notebooks, with a plate of homemade food, eating breakfast while preparing for class? Oh, how she wished she could fast forward time to the beginning of the school year.

There was a knock on the door. Relena jumped out of her chair and dashed to open the door. It was her landlord.

"Good morning!" Relena greeted her with a warm smile.

"And a good morning to you, Vice-Foreign Minister Darlian," she replied.

"Oh please, call me Relena," Relena said with a simple dismissive wave of her hand before stepping aside and letting the old lady in.

"Only if you call me Margrete," she replied.

"Alright, Margrete."

"I hope you found your stay agreeable."

"It's absolutely wonderful," Relena said as she clasped her hands together. "To be honest, I knew this was the place for me the moment I saw it."

"Well, I am truly honoured."

"It's just the light fixture in the bedroom, would you mind terribly if changed it?" Relena asked nervously as she bit her bottom lip.

"Of course not, I'll send someone to do it right away," Margrete said.

"No, no, that's not necessary," Relena said apologetically. "I won't be moving in for another three weeks. And I'll get someone to do it for me. I'll pay for everything. I insist."

"You're a very sweet girl," Margrete commented.

Relena blushed. She liked getting compliments from people other than diplomats and politicians.

"Now come, I was informed by your assistant that you have a press conference at the university today," Margrete said mustering up her stern voice.

"Oh god, they go to you too," Relena said with a defeated sigh as she turned to look at herself in the mirror in the entrance hallway.

"You should be grateful to have people looking out for your well-being, Relena. It is not a luxury most people have."

"I know, I know," Relena said absently as she adjusted her hair. "I am grateful. It's just, sometimes I need a little room to breathe."

"Breathe later," Margrete said. "Be a princess now."

"Alright, alright, I'm going." Relena pouted as she put on her heels. "And I thought we were becoming such good friends."

The street was rather empty except for a few people. No cameras, no paparazzi, at least Danielle told Margrete to be discreet about her new abode. Although, realistically, it was only a matter of time before they found out about this place. The paparazzi had been tirelessly camping outside the front gate of the Peacecraft Palace ever since they found that out she was renovating it and living there. But every day she could evade the tabloids, she counted as a victory. She waved goodbye to her new landlord before opening the door of the limo and getting in.

Once inside, Relena took a second to close her eyes and calm herself. _A press conference, how ridiculous_ , she thought to herself. How was she supposed to be normal if she had to hold a press conference to officially announce her enrollment? Normal students don't have to hold a press conference when they entered university. But she was wise enough to understand, as much as she wanted to be normal, she wasn't and she never was. She was royalty and now, a public official. There were strings attached. There were responsibilities. And a certain level of cachet, that which the university was keen to take advantage of. She didn't begrudge them for it. She understood, it was important for the university's reputation. Still, she didn't have to like it.

"Alright Pagan, let's get this over with," Relena said with a heavy sigh.

The car began to move and pull into the street.

"And I thought I told you I don't need a driver, the university is well within walking distance. And who's running the house right now?" Relena asked as she stared out the window.

"Pagan, or at least that's what Noin told me."

Her eyes widened at the sound of that voice. She jumped a little in her seat, nearly hitting her head on the roof.

"Seatbelt please."

"Heero?!"


	3. One Question Per

**Author's Note**

It may seem cliché to thank your readers and reviewers but the alternative just seems downright rude. Especially considering the overwhelmingly positive response I've gotten so far, I just don't think it would be right to continue forward without at least a simple thank you. So thank you to all who have followed and favourited, those who have left constructive and in-depth reviews. This fandom I've noticed, perhaps due to the age of the original work, perhaps due to the sheer volume of fan work that has been created over the years, has considerably higher standards for both characterization and writing skill. I hope to live up to these expectations.

 _One Question Per_

"Seatbelt," he reminded her.

Even still, it took her a moment to respond. But she did as she was told and buckled up, despite his obvious attempt at deferring the most obvious of questions. _What were those questions again?_ She couldn't exactly remember. There had been so many for so long, catalogued, rehearsed, rewritten, all within the pages of her memory for the day of his return. And now that the day was here, she couldn't remember a single one. All she could do was stare at those Prussian blue eyes in the rear-view mirror. They stared right back at her.

It didn't take long for them to reach the university campus. Before she knew it, they had passed the vast fields of perfectly manicured green, through the colonnade of bronze statues, the effigies of great men of political import and higher learning, including a few of the Peacecraft kings of old. Heero, wisely swung the car around back, avoiding the mob of photographers and reporters that had gathered in the courtyard in front of the Great Hall. He already knew the school inside and out. Why was she not surprised?

They pulled into a small secluded parking lot at the back of the Great Hall. There was no one there. Perhaps, she could finally have a moment alone with him after all this time. He got out of the car and came around to open the door for Relena. He held out his hand for her. She took it gladly and let his natural strength guide her out of the car and to her feet.

She had imagined him so many times in her mind and in her dreams. Wild and mysterious, with those intense eyes, and an expression so impenetrable she wondered if she would ever get to know what he was thinking. She missed him. Ever since she found out that he took off from the hospital after the Battle of Brussels, she worried and thought about him everyday. Some days it was just a few idle minutes during a particularly tedious meeting, wondering where he was and what he was doing. On others she would spend hours upon hours scouring the internet for any trace of him. And now he was here, standing right in front of her. Flesh and blood.

He had changed. Not in a bad way. But he was different than she remembered. Taller, more muscular, with a more defined jaw, and wider shoulders. He had become a man. But it wasn't just his physical transformation that caught her attention. It was in his face. It was in his eyes. There was sorrow there. A deep and immutable sorrow. He wore it plainly, like a scar.

"What… what are you doing here?" Relena managed to say after spending what seemed like an eternity just staring at him.

"Noin told me Pagan was busy and asked me to pick you up," Heero answered plainly. Completely, and probably, deliberately missing the point of her question.

"No, I mean here, in Vustgaarde," Relena reiterated.

"I…" He stuttered. "I will be attending Vustgaarde as well. They accepted my application."

"Congratulations." Relena smiled as tears began to well in her eyes.

"Thank you," Heero replied politely.

"You were always smart," Relena said. "I have to confess, I was afraid I'd never see you again."

"I hope I'm not intruding."

"No, not at all." She was just elated that he was here. "Quite the opposite, in fact."

She had no idea why she was being so cordial, so polite, so distant. Perhaps it was because he was being unusually kind to her. It seemed out of character for him but then again, she hadn't seen or spoken to him in over a year. A lot could change in a year.

They stood there just staring at each other for a moment. Enjoying the stillness, enjoying the peace that they had fought so hard to create. They never thought this moment would come, there was always something in the way, something more pressing, some danger that overshadowed whatever was between them that neither of them could quite figure out.

Their moment of silence contemplation was interrupted by the sound of flashes and shutters. They couldn't avoid them for long. It was only a matter of time. They came pouring into the parking lot through the side of the building. Heero stood stoically, unphased by the swarm that had surrounded them.

He merely held out his hand and said, "Come on, I should really get you inside. The press conference is about to start."

"Wait," Relena said as she felt him drag her up the steps towards the back entrance of the Great Hall.

"Later, I promise."

* * *

This was a different kind of speech. She knew that. Her assistant and her publicist had made that point perfectly clear. Relena wasn't unacquainted with the press. She just wasn't used to addressing them directly. That was the president's job. She primarily made speeches directly to the people or to other politicians. She had become quite well-versed in the art of public oratory. She was known for her precision of language, compassionate yet strong delivery, and her timely ability to throw in a joke or two. That last quality would serve her well here.

Taking the advice of her stylist, she dressed down for the occasion. Not that she wasn't radiant, there was always an aura of perfection about her, but gone were the signature cream pantsuit and her ponytail. She wore a pastel blue v neck blouse, a pair of black jeans, a pair of 4-inch beige heels, and a side braid. She did look noticeably more youthful.

"Hello all. First off, I'd like to thank President Dahlinger for her most flattering introduction. I only hope that I will be able to live up to such high praise," Relena said eloquently and without hesitation to the crowd of reporters before her. "It is true that I am not the first Peacecraft to attend this most prestigious institution and it seems a tall order to walk in their footsteps. As my high school teachers will tell you, I was not the most keen student of history. But life and war have proven to me that my previous indolence was foolish. President Dahlinger, you said that I honour this university with my presence. I say, you honour me for accepting me into these hallowed halls. Thank you very much."

A polite applause erupted from the crowd in front of her as Relena stepped off of the podium, making way for her publicists to wrangle the media.

"Miss Relena will now take a few questions," Augusta, the blonde woman who took Relena's place, spoke. "May I remind you that she will not be fielding questions about her private history, her personal life, the ongoing negotiations between L1 and L2, or any other questions of a political nature. But hey, other than that, go nuts!"

She managed to get a few chuckles out of the crowd of reporters before she handed off the microphone to Relena.

"Hello Miss Relena, it's an honour to have you at our school," the first reporter began. "It seems that we know so much about Vice Foreign Minister Darlian and her political positions and her influence over global relations but know very little about the woman herself. I'm sure that is by design but seeing as you are entering university, I was just wondering what are your interests in terms of academics and what classes will you be taking?"

"First off, I'd like to thank the press for letting the girl get the first question in, I know how vicious you guys can be," Relena said teasingly. She managed to generate some laughs herself. "I think it is a fair question. I think it comes as no surprise to anyone that I'll be taking several political science and international relations courses. But seeing as how I have been out of school for the past two years, I'll be taking some introductory calculus, physics, chemistry, and biology courses to get me up to speed with the other students. My second semester, assuming get through the first, I think I'll explore the arts. There are so many courses in the catalogue and I haven't fully made up my mind yet but there are some art history courses that I'm interested in."

Augusta jumped down from the podium and quickly snatched the microphone from Relena.

"Keep in mind everyone, that while Miss Relena is being wonderfully candid about her interests and her course load, know that, precisely which classes she's enrolled in will be kept private, I mean come on guys, give the poor girl a little bit of space," Augusta said before tossing the microphone back to Relena.

Relena rolled her eyes at her publicist before moving on to picking out another reporter from the crowd.

"Yes?"

"Hello, Vice Foreign— sorry, force of habit, Miss Relena, Halick Perry from The International," the man said.

"I know who you are, Halick. You're always in the back of every speech I give," Relena said in a deflated yet familiar tone, which managed to catch the man off guard.

"Didn't think you would remember me," Halick responded with genuine surprise.

"I remember you, go on, ask your incredibly invasive yet perfectly articulated question…" Relena said maintaining her previous affectation.

She managed to generate a few more chuckles from the crowd. It was fun for her. Normally, she always had to be so formal in front of the cameras. She was never pandering, but she was always dignified to a fault. Perhaps it was simply because it had been so long, or perhaps it was because she genuinely did want to take this chance to show a little more of her personality, the side of her she necessarily had to keep hidden during her day job.

"Ahem." Halick took a moment to clear his throat. "Beyond your heroic and pivotal role in ending the Eve Wars, you have a reputation of being one of the hardest working statesmen of our time. With almost a Herculean resolve, to quote Senator Horatio Silva of V-125, it seems as though you are never not working. How will adding full-time schooling affect your workload? And more importantly, and the question I think on everyone's mind, will you be taking time off from your position as the Vice Foreign Minister of the Earth Sphere Unified Nation and liaison between earth and the colonies while you are in school?"

"First of all, I'll have to thank Senator Silva for the kind words, I hadn't heard that before. He's still not getting my endorsement for his economic plans, you can tell him that next time you see him," Relena said. "As for my work, I have no plans to scale back my role or my involvement with the world government. I take my work with the utmost seriousness and my enrollment in Vustgaarde is not meant as a method of escape from public life. Quite the opposite, I'm hoping that an education here will only further my abilities to serve, protect, and sustain the peace that we have given so much to create."

 _That was a little too political._

She couldn't help it. It was part of her training to bust out the rhetoric when it came to matters of state, even when the question was more personal in nature. But the answer seemed to satisfy. They quickly moved onto other question from other reporters.

The press conference was a resounding success, if such a thing could be considered successful. Ultimately, Relena understood that it was a necessary charade for all involved. The university got to bolster its reputation, the media outlets, both tabloids and serious journalistic endeavours alike got some of what they came for, and she even got a chance to play to the crowd. It was nice being liked rather than just purely respected once in a while.

Relena was greeted by Noin, Augusta, and Cindy, Relena's assistant after the press conference had officially come to a close.

"Girl, you owned that crowd," Augusta said as she tossed Relena a bottle of water.

"Oh my god, you were so awesome!" Cindy squealed.

"Thank you," Relena said meekly as she took a sip of water. "I know you're disappointed about not letting you place a ring of armed thugs around me while I'm here, Noin. But I hope you understand."

"Hey, I'll get over it," Noin said as she threw up her hands in surrender.

"Thanks for sending Heero to pick me up."

"He was happy to do it."

"Did you know?"

"Know what?"

"That he was enrolling here as well."

"Yes."

"And you didn't think to tell me?" Relena asked getting almost angry.

"I figured it would be a nice surprise," Noin said feigning ignorance.

Relena closed her eyes and gently shook her head. She hated to admit it but… "It was nice."

* * *

 _Peacecraft Royal Palace_

 _Three weeks later_

Despite her best efforts, it was ultimately her alarm clock that woke her up. She desperately didn't want to be late for the first day of school but the contractors had been working late again and their power tools and crude jokes had kept her from falling asleep at a reasonable hour. Of course, these were all just her rationalizing and looking for something to blame for her current cranky mood. The truth was that she had been away from Earth for a week due to prolonged negotiations over territorial disputes between the Earth, L1, and L2 that ultimately went nowhere. Originally, her plan was to be back for the Wednesday before and spend the interim time before the first day moving into her new place in the city. But after a week's worth of room service and hotel sheets, she just needed to sleep in her own bed.

She jumped in the shower for a soothing and serene rinse before the inevitable anarchic rush that was the rest of her morning routine. She blow dried her hair while she brushed her teeth. She straightened her hair as she sat at her vanity returning emails and sending Cindy a list of things she needed her to do.

 _Matilda: ETA fifteen minutes, tell the doorman to open the gates for us! We brought breakfast! :)_

Relena smiled as she read read the message on her phone. Her mood improved considerably. She had met a few girls after the press conference. Two of them had come to see her speak, one of them was there for orientation, and yet another was the sister of an old friend.

 _Relena: Tell him you're a Winner and he'll let you in._

Relena rummaged through her closet to find something to wear. In her rush to sort out her course schedule, finding a place in the city, finishing up negotiations in space, and purchasing the right textbooks, somehow she had completely forgotten to plan her outfit for the first day. She supposed that this was something she would have to get used to. Usually, when she was working, Maxine, her stylist would dress her and when she was in St. Gabriel's, they had uniforms. She eventually decided upon a white blouse, a pair of beige shorts, sandals, and a pair of aviator sunglasses.

After getting dressed, she grabbed her backpack, which Pagan had loaded up with her computer and her textbooks the night before, and headed out into the courtyard out front to await her friends. She saw a shiny blue convertible pull in just as she stepped outside. They waved to each other enthusiastically before the girls collectively jumped out of their car and rushed to give Relena hugs.

"This place is huge!" Freya, the redhead said.

"My brother is building it!" Matilda announced proudly.

"We know…" the girls collectively groaned.

"Can we see the inside?" Tanya, the girl Relena met during her orientation tour, asked.

"There's really nothing to see," Relena said.

"It's a royal palace, what do you mean there's nothing to see?" Tanya responded.

"It's messy, power tools and stacks of lumber all over the place, not to mention the sawdust," Relena insisted. "Come on, I don't want to be late for the first day."

The girls collectively frowned.

"I promise, when it is done, I'll have you all over for a big sleepover," Relena said, using her diplomatic voice.

Their faces lit up at once.

"She's a politician, she'll say anything to us out of here," Matilda teased as she stuck her tongue out at Relena.

Relena merely rolled her eyes and replied, "come on, let's go."

She gently began pushing the girls towards the car. They reluctantly began walking all the while staring back at the magnificent Victorian inspired facade of quite possibly the most gorgeous house they had ever seen. And to think it was inhabited and owned by a girl more concerned with not being late on the first day of school than own stupendous wealth.

* * *

 _Downtown Vustgaarde_

He hadn't had time to move in his furniture from Buenos Aires. But Noin was right about him. He didn't need it. He didn't need the art, or the books, or the music, or his fancy furniture. It was all an act. All he needed was a secure room with at least three viable escape routes. His new apartment fit his needs. There was a front door, a fire escape in the back, and a balcony. He had a dining room table and a crate full of weapons he had shipped to him from a storage container he kept in South Africa. And that was it. He had a job to do. Anything else would just be a distraction.

After polishing it to a mirror sheen, Heero sheathed the blade and placed it on the dining table with the rest of his gear, which included a pair of infrared and nightvision capable binoculars, a semi-automatic pistol, with two magazines, and his phone. He then picked up the gun and racked the slide a couple of times to make sure it was functioning properly. Just then he received a video call on his computer. It was Noin.

"How are you settling in?" she asked.

"Fine."

It took her a second to realize what he was doing and what was splayed out on his dining room table.

"Jesus, Heero, need I remind you that you are going to school, not war?" Noin commented.

"Look after Relena, not me," Heero said as he loaded the gun with one of the clips and tucked it into his holster.

"She's with friends."

"Have they been vetted? You got files on them?" Heero asked as he finally turned to face Noin.

"They're teenage girls, they're clean, one of them is Quatre's sister," Noin said dismissively. "Stop obsessing."

"Isn't that why you brought me on in the first place?" Heero said as he put on his jacket.

He patted himself down one last time to make sure he had everything he needed before heading for the door.

"Heero!"

"What?" Heero said as he turned to look at Noin again.

"Your backpack, don't forget it."


	4. The First Day of School

_The First Day of School_

 _Vustgaarde University_

 _August 9th, AC 198_

 _91-45-75-01: You were wonderful up there today. It was good to see you again. I'll see you when school starts._

"Heero?" Relena instinctively uttered as she looked up from her phone and scanned her surroundings.

She glanced around at her the dining hall. It was a large space with a lot of people in there but if he was there, she would find him. That is, unless he didn't want to be found.

The Dining Hall of Vustgaarde University was a massive room nearly 300 feet long and 150 feet wide. It was three stories tall, supported by ornate columns with gothic vaults made of sandstone and lined with marble. The windows on the top level were stained glass depicting the ancient kings, emperors, and saints of Sanc, Belgium, Sweden, and the Holy Roman Empire. One of them, Relena was told was her great great great grandfather. The second and first windows were made of clear glass, held steady with black iron muntin. A series of massive chandeliers, six feet by six feet illuminated the space. Fifteen long tables run along the length of the room, flanked on both side by an uncountable number of chairs, each perfectly spaced from the next. The floor was made of an ancient wood, from the forest of Kolmården and in the aisles between the tables was a red velvet carpet that ran the length of the room.

The special on the menu was changed each day. Patrons could take a menu from the usher on their way in or inquire about their options from the waiter that would come by and take their order. Most of the staff were undergraduate students with two senior chef and one executive chef running the kitchens and one expeditor overseeing the operation in the Dining Hall itself. Once a month of the second and fourth Sunday, the kitchen would serve pizza and sundaes respectively.

Normally, during the school year, the Dining Hall was exclusive to students, professors, and employees of the university but during the summer months it was a restaurant open to the general public.

Despite, the occasion of the press conference, the Dining Hall was considerably empty. To Relena's right were the reporters and photographers, keeping a surprisingly respectful difference, on fear of being thrown out, she surmised. Behind her were the university brass, enjoying themselves.

"Oh just ignore them," Helen said to Relena.

Helena was one of the girls she had met on the tour of the school the press conference. She was a tall brunette, a little bookish, but with a quick wit, which Relena liked, and stunning eyes. She along with Freya, Tanya, and Matilda, whom she learned was the sister of Quatre, decided to go for lunch after their tour had ended.

"Well hold on," Freya said as she looked over at the reporters and their cameras. "It's not everyday that I might end up on the news. Let me enjoy this."

Relena smiled as she rolled her eyes.

"She's not worried about them," Matilda said. She was quite the perceptive one.

And quick, much like her brother. Before Relena even knew it, Matilda had leaned over and read the message on her phone.

"Ooh, who's that from?" Matilda inquired.

"Nothing," Relena said as she tucked her phone away into her pocket. "No one."

Heero stood in the shadows of one of the alcoves, between a large column staring at her. Staring at her, hiding from her, like he always did in those early days. During the war, in a time when he had purpose, he managed to delude himself into thinking that his observations were merely tactical and that his fascination with her was for the good of the mission. He had grown since then, dispensed himself of his childish illusions. But what was left? He wasn't quite sure.

He had always known, even back then when he deemed it irrelevant, that she was stunningly beautiful. The portrait of a princess, even if she didn't know it at the time. She was an aristocrat and he was a peasant boy. She had only grown more beautiful with time. She wasn't a girl anymore. She was a beautiful woman, the desire of men across the universe, and envy of all girls, even the ones that shared a meal with her at that very moment.

"You know, when I said I wanted you to keep an eye on her, I didn't mean it like this," Noin said as she approached him from behind.

"She's busy, I don't want to interrupt," Heero said flatly.

"She'll make time for you," Noin said. "I guarantee it."

"She shouldn't have to," Heero replied. "I saw the way she was today when I helped her out of the car. Pulse raising, shortness of breath. She's still afraid of me. I don't blame her. How many times have I threatened to kill her?"

"I think she's forgiven you for that."

 _Had she?_ He wondered. Of course she had. That's who Relena was. She was kind and loving. It was in her nature. She was the embodiment of peace, a model for future generations. He was a figment of the past, an ugly reminder of humanity's worst mistakes. No, he didn't doubt her capacity for forgiveness. He doubted his own worthiness of such a blessing.

"I showed up," Heero said. "You said you had something for me."

Noin sighed and shook her head. "Alright, down to business I guess."

She handed him a hefty unmarked manila envelope.

"What is it?"

"Course requirements."

Heero opened up the envelope and took out a two page fold out. He quickly read through the introduction and realized what this was. _Bureaucratic bullshit._ He looked into the envelope once more and found a bunch of spiral bound notebooks.

"You got three weeks."

Heero paused for a moment.

"Mission accepted."

* * *

 _The Valknut, Preventers Headquarters_

 _The day before the beginning of fall semester_

"He broke the guy's nose?"

Noin threw up her hands in the air. She sighed deeply as she leaned back in her chair.

"What can I say? It was non-lethal."

The office was clean and austere. Bullet proof glass on every side, overlooking a war cemetery across the street. There was a barricade that kept cars from loitering in front of the building and armed guards patrolling the perimeter. Even still a well placed RPG or even a Leo's 105mm rifle would tear right through her office, instantly killing her. There were those in the organization that thought it was her folly. Hubris. But to Director Une, it was a show of strength, a symbol, a message, and a warning to those who would oppose or seek to undermine the precarious peace that had been achieved at the cost of untold devastation. The world may have eyes on her, but she had eyes on them too.

She sat facing outward, staring at the cemetery across the street as she so often did. It was a cloudy day. The rain would come soon. She could feel it in her bones. It reminded her of Mr. Treize. For she also felt him in her bones. Forever and always. Although she missed him desperately, in a way, she was glad he was dead. This world was not for him. And she knew that he never intended to live to see it. Men like him and Heero Yuy belonged to another age. A warrior past, proud and noble, but ultimately obsolete.

"You passed him anyways?" Une asked suspiciously as she spun her chair around to face Noin.

"It's one broken nose," Noin said, trying to play off the incident. "And Inis is going to be fine."

"You want to use him as a bodyguard, yet this is the one field where he struggles," Une said as she picked up her tablet from the top of her desk and began to scroll through the document on screen. "Shooting, excellent. hand-to-hand combat, superb. Reconnaissance and intelligence gathering, possibly the best in this organization's history. But you want to use him as a bodyguard?"

"Well, you know Heero—"

"Yes, I do," Une interrupted. "I could use him for so much more. This thing brewing in the South Pacific for instance."

"He's not interested," Noin replied.

"The princess doesn't need protection, she's attending a university, in the Sanc Kingdom no less," Une said dismissively as she threw down the tablet. "There are far more pressing threats. And there a fewer and fewer good men to face them these days."

"You mean soldiers."

"Call them what you like. It doesn't change who they are. What they are."

"Katerina…" Noin said sternly as her gaze sharpened. "We owe it to them… They fought for us. They risked their lives…"

"They would do it again, if we asked them to."

"Which is precisely why we can't," Noin said softly yet earnestly. "They deserve better. They deserve a chance to choose. To heal…"

"I gave him that opportunity a year ago," Director Une said, turning to face the window once again.

"No, you gave him a chance to be your symbol, to be your pawn," Noin replied. "That's not what I'm talking about. Give him a chance to find meaning."

"There is no meaning."

Noin sighed once again and shook her head. They felt for her friend. At the end of the Eve Wars, they had grown close, commiserate over their loss. But then, miraculously, out of the cold emptiness of space, _he_ appeared. The Tallgeese, a phoenix from the flames. And in an instance, all her lost dreams; revived. She understood Une's pain, she understood that deep sense of loss, that unshakable emptiness, and the cold rage that ceaselessly stalks. Not that Zech's return was painless or without turmoil. They were separated by worlds. Separated by circumstance. Separated by duty. _Take care of her_ , he said. How could she refuse? Even if it pained her every second she was away from him. But she thought about the alternative. She thought about Une and Treize. Would she trade places with her? No, not for a second.

Noin noticed the little silver frame that was turned down on her desk. She picked it up and turned it around. A girl with red hair and _his_ charismatic smile. _His_ eyes. How painful it must be for her to see him in her every time. Yet a blessing all the same. She placed it back down on her desk, upright.

"Go see your daughter. It's what he would want."

* * *

 _Route 28, near Vustgaarde_

 _The next day_

The sun had risen passed the treeline and was now shining brightly above them. It looked warmer than it was. It had rained the night before and the smell of the fresh storm still lingered in the air. A residual westwardly wind still occasionally blew passed them as they made their way along the empty road towards Vustgaarde. Every time this happened, without fail, one of the girls would complain about it and would ask Freya to pull over so that they could put up the roof of the convertible. But Freya was in no mood to stop.

Relena wasn't bothered by the cold. She had lived in these parts all of her life. In her reckless youth she had spent many nights up near the north sea, on the beaches near her home, spending endless nights drinking and partying with her friends. The coldest place she had ever been was when she was trapped on the Battleship Libra. Nothing could come as close as the feeling of dread and numbness caused by that kind of sterile cold. To her, wind was just a sign of life, a constant reminder that the world was moving and would continue to move. The brief momentary unpleasantness aside, it meant that things would change and that things could change.

But the weather was the least of her concerns. She was focused on her phone and the cryptic text message that she received after her press conference at the university. _Was that Heero?_ Of course it was. Who else could it have been? She didn't recognize the number and she wasn't listed in any public directory. And if there was one person who could find out what her private phone number, known only to a few of her closest confidants, he could. Perhaps, she was merely using her amateur detective reasoning to rationalize what she wanted to believe to be true, whatever the case, she wanted nothing less but for him to text her back. She had spent a dozen messages to him. None of which he had replied to. She supposed it didn't matter very much now, it was the first day of school and he would be there. Wouldn't he?

"Who ya waiting on?" Freya asked mischievously as she took her eyes off of the road for a second.

"What? No one, my assistant," Relena replied awkwardly.

"Is it that cute guy you were photographed with the day of the press conference?" Tanya asked.

"You mean her driver?" Helen asked.

"He wasn't her driver!" Tanya shot back. "That was his car, wasn't it, Relena?"

"So, who is he?" Freya asked.

"I'm sure, I have no idea what you're talking about," Relena said haughtily, affecting a mischievous tone of her own as she tucked her phone away and folded her arms across her chest.

"Oh, come on," Tanya begged.

"I know who he is," Matilda said disinterestedly, staring out at the road ahead.

Relena's eyes widened. "You better not say anything if you know what's good for you!"

Relena turned around and reached for Matilda before she was blocked and restrained by Tanya and Helen.

"Whao! I've never seen _this_ Relena Peacecraft before," Freya laughed as she tried to focus on her driving.

"Now I'm really curious as to who he is!" Tanya said.

"Yeah, me too. It's not fair that you know, Matilda. Come on, who is he?" Helen asked.

"Yeah Matilda, spill! Who is this guy that he can get under the skin of the great Relena Peacecraft, daughter of King Marticus, Vice-Foreign Minister of the Earth Sphere Unified Nation, and Queen of the World?" Freya asked.

Matilda stared back at Relena. Relena returned her look with a grave yet desperate expression as if pleading with Matilda to keep quiet about this.

Sensing Relena's desperation Matilda answered, "I'm sorry, but I cannot betray the confidence of my queen."

The other three girls collectively groaned.

* * *

The lecture hall was a large semi-circular theatre. It could fit up to 400 people at any one time, 500 if people were will to sit in the aisles and along the edges of the room. It was panelled with oak with a lacquer finish, with lights along the steps, and a 40 foot digital display capable of 3D holographic projections behind the lecturer's podium. The seats were all fitted with leather cushions and a built-in touchscreen surface for note taking and following lecture slides should any student have forgotten to bring their computer. Such was the duality of Vustgaarde university, at once a bastion of heritage and tradition and a champion of progress and innovation.

Relena and her friends took a seat on the seventh row center. A crowd quickly gathered around her. The questions and the requests for autographs and photos began immediately. Beyond the immediate circle that had formed around her, there were onlookers, people who weren't even enrolled in the class, watching curiously from the doors. Relena was polite and friendly, but she made it a point to turn down the requests for autographs and photos. Those around her, who spoke to her, though disappointed understood. However this did not stop those who those from the far edges of the lecture hall from snapping opportunistic photos and videos with their phones.

Heero was among those taking photos. Although he took very few photos of Relena herself. He was more interested in her new group of friends, those currently accosting her, and those sneaking photos from a distance. He didn't even have to be stealthy about it. So mesmerized were the people in that room by Relena's charismatic and warm presence that they took no notice of him. He planned to run his photos through face recognition software and cross reference that with the school's database to see if there were any outliers and potential threats.

After about fifteen minutes, the professor showed up and took his place at the podium.

"Alright, alright, settle down," he said in a slightly cranky voice.

The professor was an older fellow, mid-fifties to early sixties, slim frame, with white hair and a mustache. He wore a black sweater vest with a red tie tucked in, typical of many professors. But despite his seemingly frail disposition, his voice carried.

"Yes, we have a very special student with us this semester," he continued. "This is probably why this class, History and Conflict, which averages around 100 students at the beginning of the semester and dwindles to 65 by the end is filled to the rafters! And as much as I would love to think that you are all here for my brilliant insights and inspired lecturing style, I am old and wise enough to know better."

He reached into the pants pocket and pulled out his glasses. After blowing on it a couple of times and wiping it down with his sweater, he put them on.

"So, to those of you who aren't actually enrolled in my class... get the hell out!"

Slowly but surely, a large portion of the crowd started to make their way out of the lecture hall. Once they had gone, the lights dimmed and the main display turned on.

"Now, let's get some of the more mundane business out of the way. I am professor Isaiah Scharenberg. This is a first year survey course that will cover the gamut conflicts, from the prehistoric ritual warfare of the earliest hunter-gatherer societies, to the world-wide conflicts of the early twentieth century, and finally to the transnational conflicts of recent decades to which our great guest of honour, Miss Relena… Peacecraft or Darlian, I always forget," the professor said in a half-mocking half-playful tone.

"Just Relena will be fine," she replied sheepishly.

"Hmm, how humble," Professor Scharenberg remarked. "Our great guest, _Relena_ , played such an integral role in resolving. It is a true honour to have you in this class. Please feel free to contribute at any point in this course. Shake things up a bit, bring this stuffy old codger back down to earth."

The old professor managed to get a few laughs out of his students, including Relena.

"Your grades will be based off one essay worth fifteen percent of your final grade, a midterm worth thirty-five percent, and a final worth the remaining fifty percent. Office hours are Tuesdays, 2:45PM to 4PM, and Wednesdays 9AM to 10AM. Not that it matters, none of you will come see me anyways. Now, onto the good stuff..."

The first slide appeared on the main display as well as on their touchscreen desks.

 _War is merely the continuation of politics by other means._

"Now, who can tell me the author of this quote?"

There was a silence in the room. For several moments, no one dared say anything. The class began to look to Relena. She felt embarrassed. She just wanted to be another student in the crowd. But if no one else was going to say anything, she supposed then she would have to. But before she could utter the words, a voice came from the back of the classroom.

"Clausewitz."

That voice. That unmistakable voice.

Relena turned sharply to look. He looked right back at her. He was here. He did come after all. _Thank god…._

"Very good," Professor Scharenberg said in a congratulatory voice. "We have a student of war here. Now tell me mister..."

There was a moment of silence before a reply came.

"Heero, Heero Yuy."

Relena's eyes widened. He was using his name? Why? Was this for real? Does this mean he was finally going to stay?

"Interesting name. We'll have to come back to that later. Now Mr. Yuy, would you agree with Clausewitz?"

"No."

"Care to defend your position, Mr, Yuy?"

"Because war is not simply a tool of governments and revolutionaries. It is not merely political. It is within our nature. To be human is to war."

The entire lecture hall fell silent. Heero caught Relena staring at him, giving him a nasty glare. Of course an answer like what would piss her off. He knew that as well as anyone. Then why did he say it? Did he believe it? There was a time in his life when he genuinely did. But a year ago, he had a choice. A choice between war and her. If he believed the words that he just uttered, then he would've been like Wufei and joined Mariemaia's army. Instead, he chose her. _He chose her._ Perhaps, he just wanted her to know it.

"Interesting answer." Professor Scharenberg finally said. "Not exactly how I would put it, but you are not entirely wrong. In this course, he will look past the narrow constraints of modern conflict and delve deep and take a look at other forms of warfare that have existed. Some of which, you will discover are not at all political."

The rest of the lecture consisted mostly of Professor Scharenberg talking and going over the general outline of the course. Relena had absorbed an enormous amount of information. Much of this was new to her. She was of a generation where war was the primary means of achieving political goals. To think that war could be something entirely else was utterly shocking to her.

Heero on the other hand had learned much of this through Doctor J, who forced him to read Clausewitz, Thucydides, Machiavelli, and Sun Tzu when he was eight years old. He knew all of the great thinkers of war and very little of the information in this course was new to him. Although admittedly he had never experienced these writers, events, and ideologies, through a liberal arts perspective. His education was far more utilitarian. But he wasn't primarily here for the education, he didn't take classes that he was interested in, although war was one of his few true interests. He took the class simply because Relena was in it.

When the lecture was over, Heero made it a point to try to get out as fast as possible. But Relena had been meaning to speak to him for the last three weeks and would not let him again away again.

"Heero!" She called out.

He stopped.

He could feel her footsteps approaching. He turned around.

"Relena."

He could already hear the whispers behind her. _Is that the guy from the photos? It has to be. Look at the way they are looking at each other. Alright alright, come on, give them some space._

"Can we talk?" Relena asked.

* * *

They found a little rooftop garden on the top of the lecture hall they were just in. It was the perfect little get away for them to speak privately, away from curious ears and gossip hungry teenagers. They were having a hard enough time confronting each other to begin with. The last thing they needed was a live audience, making it that much more uncomfortable. Not that they needed any help making their current predicament awkward.

"You know, you better be careful if you want to keep a low profile." Relena walked alongside Heero, neither brave enough to make prolonged eye contact. "Matilda knows who you are. But I suppose that makes sense, she's Quatre's sister."

"Quatre's got a big mouth," Heero said.

"They are family, be happy for him that he still has one."

Heero knew that she was right. And he wasn't really angry that Quatre had told his sister about his identity. He had learned over the course of the year that it didn't matter as much as it used to. The war was over and the identity of the Gundam pilots became more of a novelty of trivia rather than actionable intelligence.

"How are you?" She finally asked.

"I'm fine."

"Fine, just fine? That's always your answer, isn't it?"

"Yes."

"I came to see you," Relena said as she stopped walking.

Her hand reached up and grabbed a hold of his.

"In the hospital, after the battle, you had already left," she continued.

Heero looked away in shame.

"I don't blame you, Lucrezia and Katerina told me their plans," Relena said softly. "I knew that was not you and you would never agree to something like that. Still, I wish you would have at least let me know where you were going."

"I didn't know where I was going, I just… needed to keep moving."

"I could've helped. I wanted to." Her voice began to tremble. "But you never gave me a chance."

"You don't owe me anything," Heero said ruefully. "You saved the world. You don't have to save me."

"Heero…"

"The truth is I didn't know how to talk to you. I… I…" Heero stuttered.

"What, Heero?" Relena asked, desperately wanting him to say the next few words.

"I died in your arms that day. And when I awoke… I was nobody. I wasn't a soldier anymore, I wasn't a Gundam pilot, I had no identity. Everything I had ever known was gone, irrelevant."

He didn't know what he was saying or why he said it. He lost control. He had never lost control before. This was dangerous. Why burden her with his inner demons? They were his and his alone to suffer. _Don't drag her into your mess, get it together._

"I know it's not the same but…" Relena began. "I decided to enroll here for similar reasons. I know what they call me, I know who they think I am, but I don't know, not really. I was a child when I was thrust into my current role, and in a lot of ways I still am. I didn't really have a choice in the matter. So in a way, I'm here to discover who I am as well."

"I'm gad." Heero said. "I know I was… a psychopathic maniac when we first met but know that I am glad… glad that things turned out so well for you."

"Don't give up hope just yet Heero, I haven't." Relena pleaded. "I know you can get through this. I believe in you. I always have. Can we start over?"

"Start over?"

"Hi, I'm Relena. Nice to meet you."


	5. Acclimating

**Author's Note**

Things I should've have mentioned before. One of the things I've realized about GW is that despite taking place in the future it was really a show about the 90's (and the 1790's). It was a reflection of the era in which it was made, which seems like a rather obvious thing to say, considering that all art is a reflection of the era in which it is made in one way or another. What I mean specifically is the material and industrial design. The telephones and computers they used, the design of the inside of mobile suit cockpits, the design of tanks and fighter jets, all were quintessentially 90's. If any of you are familiar with Gundam 00, compare the cockpit design of the 00 to the Wing Zero, big difference. I've updated the feel of this story to the 2010's, phones, technology, clothing, and so on, are more a reflection of now than they are a continuation of the 90's aesthetic, despite this story taking place only 2 years after the events of Endless Waltz.

On a similar but separate note, I've changed the way in which these characters speak. The English dub did the best it could, but matching English dialogue with the Japanese mouth movement animations proved to be awkward to say the least. They are speak _American_ now instead of the weird Japanese/English hybrid dialectic of the show. Despite the change in dialectic, I've tried to maintain as much of the mannerisms and idiosyncrasies of the original characters. It's a tough thing to balance. I know that very few of the characters are actually American but a story is not only a reflection of the times in which it is created but also the author. :P

 _Acclimating_

It was late. Far too late for her to be still awake. But without Pagan or Cindy to tell her to turn out the lights and go to bed, she soldiered on, unencumbered by heavy eyelids, and undeterred by constant yawns. She sat in her pajamas, dutifully working as the moonlight poured in through windows and danced with the yellow of her desk lamp. If it was beautiful and ethereal and the kind of thing you only get to see, literally, once in a blue moon, she was far too occupied with the stacks of paperwork, textbooks, and digital documents on her desk, to notice.

She had finished her readings hours ago. As much as she enjoyed her courses, it had taken a few hours longer than she expected. Hence why she still awake at this ungodly hour. She was replying to emails that she had received during the day and trying to read the sections of reports that Cindy had highlighted and summarized. Relena was usually quite astute at keeping up with emails as they came in but having to jump from lecture hall to lecture hall and made it difficult respond in real time.

And Cindy, despite all of her efforts wasn't much of a help either. Perhaps, it was because they were very similar when it came to their attitude towards work. Cindy was an overachiever as well, probably why Relena hired her. When Relena asked for her to highlight the key points and write a brief summary, what Relena needed was for her to condense the information so that it was humanly possible for her through it and have a firm grasp of what was in the report, without having to read it herself. But Cindy, thinking she was being thorough, highlighted nearly half the report and wrote summaries that were on average ten to twelve pages. While that was still significantly shorter than the actual reports, Relena couldn't help but think Cindy fundamentally missed the point of her assignment.

But despite all of this. Despite her new hectic schedule, and all of the additional schoolwork piled on top of her real work, she was happy. This was her life now, and for the most part, she felt fulfilled. She had worked tirelessly and fruitlessly for so long, it was a pleasant change to see dreams come to fruition. Besides, she liked the night anyways.

* * *

 _A girl._

 _A flower._

 _A puppy._

 _An OZ mobile suit manufacturing facility._

 _360 C4 plastic explosives._

 _A Leo Early Type._

 _..._

 _Flames._

Heero woke up in a cold sweat, panting heavily despite his best efforts to control his breathing. His vision was blurry and his hands shook uncontrollably. He clenched his bedsheets with an iron grip. For a brief few moments his body seized up completely as waves of excruciating pain permeated throughout his body, straining his muscles from his neck all the way down to his toes. When it finally released him, he collapsed back onto his bed, breathless and delirious.

As his vision cleared up, turned his head slightly to look at his alarm clock. 3:45 a.m. It was still far from morning but somehow he already knew that. This was not the first night he had had that dream. But it had been a long time.

Perhaps, it was because he hadn't taken a single one of his sleeping pills since he's been here or perhaps this place, the Sanc Kingdom, reminded his body of desperate battles and endless cruelties. Memories and emotions of the war that he thought he had put away for good. But he wasn't surprised. Frustrated, absolutely. But not surprised. Not after seeing her and talking to her for the first time in over a year.

Why was she so forgiving? Why was she so eager to just pick up where they had left off? Did she not remember? Did she not remember what he had done? What he had threatened? Who he was?

Whoever she thought he was, she was mistaken. Contrary to the speeches she had been giving all across the Earth and in the Colonies, the ending of the war didn't change what he did. His sins were his own. They still were.

Heero got up from his bed and made his way across his little open concept apartment to his fridge. He pulled out a cold beer. Popping off the cap with his knuckle, he made his way over to his window. He cracked it open and sat on the window sill as he took a sip. It was cold. But that's exactly what he needed.

There were a few drunk people walking down the streets, being loud and obnoxious, and in the distance was the sound of sirens and cars driving along the main boulevards. But overall, Vustgaarde was a town that quieted down in the darkness of night. But what little noise was left would accompany him for the remaining hours until the sun came up again.

* * *

 _Vustgaarde University_

 _Fifth day of classes_

"Now this may seem counterintuitive," Professor Scharenberg said as he paced around the stage. "Chariots have two horses! Twice the charging power, twice the speed, and acts as a far more stable platform for launching ranged attacks."

It was the third lecture of History and Conflict and already attendance was starting to drop. No doubt, some people merely registered to get a glimpse of the princess then promptly dropped the course once their curiosity had been satisfied. Others may not have had the foresight to drop the class and simply stopped attending. Others, like years before, were perhaps merely bored but required the credit for their major.

Despite all this, there were still well over 200 students in the lecture on that day. Relena and her friends were among them.

"History is a series of narratives," Professor Scharenberg continued. "It's in the name. His-story. And the thing about narratives is that we implicitly leave out details to suit our own. For the past one and a half lectures, we've talked about the rise of the horse, its strengths, its advantages, and how we stuffy academics think may have changed the history of human development…"

Relena listened intently and took notes as Professor Scharenberg lectured on the development and uses of cavalry in ancient warfare. It was fascinating on a historical level but repulsive as a lover and owner of horses herself to see them used as beasts of war. But she supposed that if it weren't for the cavalrymen of the old world, she would not have Diamond, her beautiful black Oldenburg.

She took a moment to yawn and stretch her arms. And for the first time in forty minutes, she noticed her surroundings. Her friends had utterly zoned out and were now just texting each other and giggling as quietly as they could manage. She merely rolled her eyes and returned her focus back to the lecture slides and Professor Scharenberg.

"...in contrast, the mounted cavalrymen can ride in rougher terrain and if skilled enough, even into wooded areas, later on in this course we'll look at the Turkish Akıncı and their famed ambushes…" Professor Scharenberg went on with great enthusiasm despite the general languor of his pupils.

Relena turned around to see if she could find Heero. She spotted him a few rows up, staring intently at the professor with his arms folded across his chest. She thought about their last conversation. Despite his general evasiveness, he was polite and receptive, if still a little sparse with his words. She supposed that any progress was still progress. She worried about him. He did not seem like himself. But he knew that already and had admitted as much during their last conversation. But perhaps this was a good thing. She had really ever known Heero went he was a soldier, a warrior. Perhaps, now that it was all over, she could get to know the man beneath the armour.

After the lecture had ended, Heero, somewhat predictably disappeared before Relena had a chance to catch him. She tried not to make a big deal out of it and told herself that he probably had another class to catch. She accepted her friends' invitation to lunch and went along with them to the Dining Hall.

It was Matilda that noticed as they crossed the quad, that Relena had fallen behind a few paces. It seemed as though her mind was elsewhere. Matilda deliberately slowed down and, slowly but deliberately, hoping to evade the suspicion of the others.

"Hey, Relena, what'cha thinking about?" Matilda said in an upbeat but understated voice.

"Oh hi!" Relena said startled. "Sorry, I didn't realize I was lagging behind."

"Relax," Matilda said as she put her hand on Relena's shoulder. "No teasing today. I promise. I know we give you a hard time about being a princess and a diplomat. You're a really good sport, you know that? I hope you know that it is all in good fun, we don't mean any of it, right?"

"I know," Relena replied with a warm smile. "Honestly, it is a refreshing change of pace from all of the bowing and scraping of the politicians I usually deal with."

"So, what's got you all distracted today?" Matilda asked.

"Today? You mean as opposed to yesterday and the day before?" Relena asked affecting a jovial tone, a deflection. "I thought you weren't going to tease me today."

"No, I mean, really, what's up?"

"Nothing, I just thinking about the lecture… and work… and…" _Anything but his name._

"Alright," Matilda replied with a knowing tone.

"What?"

"Nothing, if you say you're okay. Then... I believe you."

They walked together in silence for several moments. Matilda waiting patiently, knowing full well that Relena would crack in a matter of moments.

"Alright fine," Relena relented. "I suppose you know already anyways."

"There it is."

"Can I ask you about your brother?"

"What about him?"

"Does he seem alright to you?" Relena asked, trying to not sound overly concerned.

"What do you mean?"

"You know, is he still… Quatre?"

"As far as I can tell."

"I mean, is he different? Withdrawn? Maybe a little cold?"

Matilda stopped and gently grabbed Relena by the hand. Relena turned to the look at the girl with gentle eyes. She shared them with her brother.

"He's going to be fine, Relena," Matilda said in a comforting voice.

"I wish I had your confidence."

"From what my brother has told me, Heero is strong, he can get through anything."

"Anything but peace," Relena whispered as she looked down in shame. "I may have destroyed his natural habitat."

"Don't say that, Relena! He fought for this, he for you and the world you envisioned," Matilda responded with urgency. "And he'd do it again. Don't ever question what you've done. You saved us all."

"But I can't save him."

"They were trained to be alone, taught that they would die one day, in no uncertain terms that they would die fighting. You can't blame them for having a hard time adjusting. They'll need longer than the rest of us."

"How did Quatre deal with it?"

"Honestly?" Matilda said with a big sigh. "He was fine at first, jubilant even, like everyone else in the days immediately following the Battle of Brussels. But as the months drew on, he became erratic and fits of violence. But Quatre had always been considerate and reasonable. He recognized the problem immediately. He started to see a therapist."

"Has it helped?" Relena asked.

"I think so," Matilda answered. "I mean, I think it would be naive of me to say that the war will ever completely leave him but he's getting better."

"I don't think Heero is the type to see a shrink."

"Maybe not," Matilda replied. "But he's going to have to talk about it, to someone, eventually."

Relena closed her eyes and pushed back the tears. She looked around. She scanned her surroundings, the university buildings, the people walking to and from classes, the perfectly manicured lawns, and the blue sky above. This idyllic paradise was what she had always dreamed of, a place without fear, a place without pain. And yet, it must've been hell for him.

"Give him time," Matilda said earnestly. "He'll come around."

"I haven't seen him in over a year and he shows up out of the blue, acting like everything's fine, even though I know it's not. I'm just worried about him."

"I know, Relena."

* * *

 _Brussels, Belgium_

 _A few hours later_

Brussels was a government town. It always has been. It's been the center of power, in one form or another, since the days of that ancient political entity known as the European Union, a precursor to the modern Earth Sphere Unified Nation in many ways. Its function as the capital of the Nation was then, not so much a result of an intentional political decision, but rather an inertial transfer of power from one era to the next. In Brussels is located the Earth Sphere Unified Nation Supreme Assembly, known as Parliament, the Court of Justice, the Valknut, Headquarters of the Preventers organization, the Presidential Palace, still under reconstruction, as well as many cultural touchstones such as the Museum of Fine Arts, Ancienne Belique, La Grand-Place, and the Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula, among others. Nearly three-quarters of the residents worked for the world government directly or indirectly. Nearly every representative, even those from the farthest reaches of space, who only came to Earth once every few years, had at least an apartment in the city.

The city was in the middle of a construction boom due to the property destruction caused by the Mariemaia rebellion. The Presidential Palace itself had not yet been completed. There was plenty of work for anyone that wanted it. Possibly too much work. The old aristocratic families, many of whom were former members of the Romefeller Foundation, had been pouring money into the city, buying up properties and starting construction and development companies, hoping to cash in on the post-war boom. Things had been relatively calm for the past year as most people were in no mood for further conflict but as the aristocratic families were pushing the lawmakers to relax restrictions on work visas in hopes of attracting labourers from the Colonies, tensions began to rise once again between the former families of the Romefeller foundation and the worker's unions of the city.

Heero and Noin sat in a coffee shop just a few blocks away from The Valknut. It was a small place with a only a few tables and no serving staff but the owner herself, an elderly woman who seemed to have back problems. Heero insisted on bringing the coffee and biscuits from the counter to the table himself to spare the old woman the trouble. Heero didn't drink coffee anyways. Noin had chosen the location because of its size and its locale. The side streets of Brussels, away from the main boulevards were lower income and government workers rarely ventured through these parts.

"Other than the tactical stuff, how is she?" Noin asked.

"She's fine," Heero answered plainly. "She seems a little busy but other than that, she seems to be holding up well."

"Well, we can't be surprised about that. She knew what she was getting into."

"You don't agree with her choice to attend university?" Heero asked.

"No, I think her attending Vustgaarde is a wonderful idea," Noin replied as she took a sip of her coffee. "But I think she should've taken a break from her job to do it. Being the Vice Foreign Minister is already more than a full time job. Attending school on top of that seems insane to me. But you know Relena…"

Heero slid the blue dossier across the table to Noin.

"I've included a few extra elements that drew my attention. They could be a cause for concern," Heero said.

Noin opened the dossier and flipped to the back. She took a few moments to read through it.

"The Vustgaarde Anarchist Students Collective? The Home and Heritage Society? Really Heero? A few student radicals and the campus rich kids club?" Noin said with an incredulous grin.

"Both harbour resentments against Relena and her policies," Heero replied.

"There will always be political dissidents on a university campus," Noin said dismissively. "Not even Relena can have the love of every single person in the world."

"It's not just them. But if the tensions here in Brussels start spreading…"

"Leave political analysis to the professionals, Heero. You're overreacting." Noin said as she took another sip of her coffee.

Heero didn't want to push the issue any further. She knew that Noin was probably right and that this was nothing, but in his mind, he couldn't let it slide once he made the connection.

"But hey, other than that. You're doing a good job so far. Your reporting is consistent, precise, and detailed."

"I feel like I'm spying on her," Heero said as he idly looked around at the coffee shop. "I don't like it."

"There's no rule against you talking to her, Heero. _You_ made the choice to stay away from her. Not us. If you want to be friends with her, by all means… I mean really, isn't it about time?"

* * *

 _Relena's townhouse_

 _A few hours later_

Relena crashed against her door as soon as she was in, using her body weight to slam it shut. She exhaled slowly as her head drooped in quiet resignation. It had been a long day. She had been up way too late the night before, finishing up her school readings, reviewing reports, and preparing for a meeting she had later today. Her day started with History and Conflict, followed by a quick lunch with friends, then followed by a four hour stretch where she had calculus and chemistry one after another. By the time she got home, she was utterly exhausted.

She had a few hours of downtime and decided to run a bubble bath. She knew that she had calculus and chemistry homework to do and these precious few hours should've been devoted to that but she needed to relax. Her body was starting to give out on her. When she started to entertain thoughts of pawning off her school work to Cindy, she knew she needed a break.

Relena began running the bath before she ran into her room to answer a few quick emails that she knew wouldn't take her longer than a few minutes at most. She then put on her playlist of nature sounds, lit some candles, and turned off the lights in her bathroom before jumping into the tub. She let out an audible moan as the bubbles engulfed her whole body. She needed this. _She deserved this._

She fell asleep.

* * *

 _Relena: HELP!_

Heero had just gotten back from Brussels and was just about to enter his apartment when he received the text message from Relena. His mind began to reel. Had he been careless? Had he missed something? He had memorized her schedule. She should've been home at that hour. Heero quickly checked the tracker app on his phone. Relena was at home. Or at least her phone was at the moment.

 _Heero: What's wrong?_

He waited for a reply.

 _Relena: Please! Come to my house right now!_

Heero tucked his phone in his back pocket and pulled out his gun from his shoulder holster. He popped out the magazine to check that it was loaded. Of course it was loaded, he checked every morning, and he hadn't fired his gun (any of them) in over a year. Yet he did it anyways. It was just a habit at this point. He rushed downstairs, out of his building, and into the alleyway. He pulled his bike out onto the street, swiftly got on, and started towards Relena's place.

Heero only lived a few blocks away from Relena. That was by design. He needed to be close enough that he could get there within minutes even by running but far away enough to give her room and a sense of independence. And so that Heero and Relena wouldn't accidentally run into each other while by just walking on the street. He reached her place in less than three minutes. He parked his bike a few houses down and continued up to her place on foot.

Once he had reached her door, he pulled out his gun. He examined the door, no sign of forced entry. But it was unlocked. Did the intruder have a key? Was it one of her friends from school? No, it couldn't be. He had requested their files from local police and the Preventers. They didn't have anything on them. He had even hacked into the university student database, he found nothing unusual about any of them. He slowly made his way through the rooms, clearing them before moving on.

"Relena?" Heero cautiously called out.

"Up here!" A voice came from understairs.

Heero quickly rushed up the stairs. He quickly checked all of the rooms before finally finding Relena in the bathroom. He charged in, gun raised only to find, Relena, alone, by herself. The poor girl was wrapped in a towel, sitting on top of her toilet, knees to her chest, hair soaking wet, sobbing quietly into her hands.

Heero relaxed and holstered his gun. There was a time in his life when this kind of false alarm would have angered him to no end. But seeing her like that, so helpless and vulnerable, he couldn't help but feel sorry for the girl. He slowly made his way across the bathroom, boots displacing the water on the bathroom floor as he went until he had reached her. She slowly looked up with an adorably pathetic expression and tears in her eyes. He tried to offer her a comforting smile as he held out his hand for her.

After a moment, she took it and stood up.

"I'm an idiot," she said despondently. "I'm a complete and utter idiot. I have no idea what I'm doing. I'm completely useless without others there to help me. I can't even make a bubble bath right. And I have a meeting with a representative of the mining conglomerate and the president of L3 in fifteen minutes, which I'm totally going to miss. I haven't miss a meeting, ever! What have I gotten myself into…"

Relena's head fell into her hands. Her towel came undone just as Heero reached out to catch it.

"You think I'm a fool don't you?" Relena asked. "You think I am naive. That I bit off more than I could chew—"

"Relena," Heero said forcefully. "Just tell me what happened."

"I… I fell asleep…"

Heero almost laughed. "Alright, go get dressed, take your meeting, I'll take care of this."

Relena was stunned by his frankness. She expected a little judgement from him. He had never pulled punches when it came to her before.

"Thank you, Heero."

Heero watched her as she ran off into her room. For some reason it made him happy. Perhaps, it was because he hadn't seen this side of Relena in a long time. Perhaps, he was just glad that the war hadn't robbed her of her youth, that despite everything that had happened to her, she was still Relena, still unbreakable.

* * *

"Well, this was less than my bosses were hoping for, but truthfully, I think they can learn to live with it," the representative of the mining conglomerate said as he pushed his glasses up with his index finger.

"What about you, Mr. President? Any final thoughts?" Relena asked commandingly.

"You and Mr. Hatoshi have been more than fair," the president of L3 remarked. "I'll present the new proposal to the legislature but I can say that this matter has been resolved. Thank you Vice Foreign Minister once again for your time and effort."

"I would say that it is no problem, but as you can see my appearance tells a different story," Relena said with a chuckle.

"I, for one, like the new look," the representative said.

"Well get used to it, because I have a feeling you're gonna see me like this a lot," Relena said as she did a graceful flip of her still damp hair.

"We wish you the best of luck with school, Vice Foreign Minister Darlian," the president of L3 said.

"Thank you."

After both parties had signed off, Relena closed her laptop and leaned back on her couch with a big sigh. She laid there still, for a few moments before she realized that Heero had been watching her from the other side of the room. He seemed in a remarkably upbeat disposition despite having just cleaned up her bathroom. He took a couple steps closer.

"You're impressive."

"Why, because I can negotiate with wet hair?" Relena asked sarcastically as she stood up.

"Because no matter what circumstance you find yourself in, you always get the job done," Heero replied.

"Guess who I learned that from?"

Heero could only observe as she approached him. Still glowing with the residual confidence from diplomat mode. She wore only a lavender blouse and a pair of of hot pink lace panties. He was pretty sure that she had noticed that he had taken notice. Perhaps, that was by design. It was working. He had never seen her like this. Halfway between human and angel, diplomat and university student, the girl of his dreams; utterly unattainable. She stared at him intensely as she ruffled her hair. God, she was beautiful.

"I, uhh, I finished cleaning up your bathroom," Heero said as he nervously fidgeted with his hands. "And I cooked you dinner, and made you a lunch for tomorrow."

"Ooh, you didn't have to do that."

"It's no problem. I saw that your fridge was full of groceries and figured that you would be a little too busy to cook for yourself."

"That's very kind of you," Relena said softly as the diplomat faded from her voice.

"Really, it's nothing."

"Would you like to join me? For dinner?"

He wanted to. He really wanted to. Against his personal promises that he made to himself before accepting the job, against every instinct in his body, he wanted to. But what did she expect of him? What did this invitation mean? He searched her eyes for an answer.

And found one.

No, that can't be right. He was just imagining it. She couldn't actually want him. She was confused. As was he. Residual feelings leftover from the war. Nothing more.

"I can't. I've a few things to do, a few chapters to read before tomorrow," Heero declined as politely as he could.

"Oh, alright," Relena answered with a high pitched voice, feebly trying to mask her disappointment.

"But hey, if you need anything, don't hesitate to call."

She watched as he walked out the door. It hurt her more than anything to just let him go like that. She had let him go so many times before. But those times were different. They were in grave danger or something else, something greater than the two of them was at stake. They sacrificed because they had to. This, this just seemed pointless. She had so much to say to him, so much she had held back for so long. But in the end, she knew that she had to let him go. He needed time. And she had to be patient.


	6. Porcelain Memories

_Porcelain Memories_

 _He was the spitting image of his father. Wise and regal, with a kindness that despite his various masks and identities over the years, could not be hidden. If he had portrayed himself as cold and calculated, strong and even at times brooding, it was simply because he knew what it was to survive in that era of conflict. A lesson that he perhaps learned too well._

 _He was resplendent, dressed in white and gold. Behind him was a bright light. He wore a crown of laurels and in his left hand was the crystal orb and in his right, the Sword of Peacecraft. And no matter how much he might try to escape the truth of his identity, she never once wavered in the belief of his greatness. She always had faith in him. Even beyond death, she still believed in him. Magnificent; he was a king, he always has been._

 _She noticed something, something that wasn't quite right. In his hands was no longer the Crystal Orb of the Sanc Kingdom and the Sword of Peacecraft. Instead, he held the mask of the Lightning Count and in his other, he held Libra with a grip so tight that he bled from his palms. She looked up at his face and though he smiled back at her, he was bleeding from every orifice._

 _She heard his scream. It was deafening. Filled with rage and despair, she saw him waste away before her eyes. A hundred years passed by in an instant. His robes turned from white and gold to red. And the light behind him became a powerful gust of wind. She had to cover her eyes and avert her gaze, for the wind was too strong. Soon the hollowed out carcass of the king himself began to decade, eaten away by his exile. His final resting place._

 _She could smell the rusted iron._

"Zechs!"

Noin woke up screaming his name. This was not the first time. The nightmares had been increasing in frequency, to the point where she was afraid to go to sleep most nights. For a brief few seconds, just as she woke up, she hoped that she would find him beside her. Safe and sound, asleep in her bed, and that the nightmare was just that and nothing more. But he was never there.

Noin splashed her face with cold water and slowly rose to look at herself in the bathroom mirror. The sterile glow of the fluorescent lights only accentuated the sleep deprived delirium upon her face and no amount of water was going to cure that. She was still sweating, despite wearing only a light grey tank top and panties. Her legs still trembled in fear. The image of his rotting corpse, sitting upon a throne of skulls wasn't something she could just shake, no matter how many times she told herself that it was _just a dream_.

She paced around the darkness of her apartment aimlessly. She occasionally checked the clock, only to find that only a few minutes had passed. She could not call him for another two hours. It was still, everything was. It was the way she liked things. Everything in its place, _except him_. He was on a far off world, wrangling the frontier and braving the hard life of exile. How she wished she could share this life, her life, with him. She liked what she had here. She liked her job. She liked her apartment with its modern amenities, minimalist furnishings, and fantastic view.

She stared out at the city below, tranquil and quiet. She had always wanted this life. Perhaps, she should've told him at least once.

Noin was beginning to grow anxious. She hadn't spoken with him in months. The satellites that enabled direct feed communication between Earth and Mars only worked during certain alignments of orbits. Mars was much farther than the colonies and even traveling there took a few weeks. But she had to do something. She couldn't just stay there and wait. Noin decided that she needed some air. She grabbed her earbuds and her music player, threw on a sweater and some tights, and headed out for a run.

The frigid air of night did her good. She could feel her senses come alive as she began to increase her pace. She ran along the Zenne and followed the flow of the river until she could see The Valknut. She decided that as long as she was out and about, she might as well get some work done.

She leaped up the steps in front of the giant triangular structure and said hello to the night guards as she flashed her security badge. Once inside she took a few moments to catch her breath and to allow her body to warm up a bit. She firmly placed her hands on her hips and exhaled hard as she looked up upon the ornaments of the lobby. She had never really taken too much note of them before now. It seemed bigger in the daytime, when people filled the space. It was austere space, filled with hard 90 degree angles, an interplay of glass, metal, and marble, presenting the illusion of strength and security.

As Noin was waiting for the elevator. She heard a faint but noticeable crack come from below her. Someone was in the firing range in the basement. Normally, it was too busy and too loud in the lobby to hear anything from down there to be heard. But in the silence of the night, she could faintly make out the sound of a semi-automatic pistol being fired with alarm speed.

Forgetting the elevator and her work, she headed downstairs. As she descended the staircase into the armoury and the firing range, she noticed as the marble disappeared from the walls and were replaced with untreated concrete.

"You know, I'd say I'm surprised but I'm really not," Noin said as she made her way into the room.

He didn't respond, he had his earmuffs on. Noin watched as Heero emptied several magazines, with incredible accuracy, into a target 30 meters away.

"What are you doing here?" Noin asked as Heero took off his earmuffs.

"Couldn't sleep," he answered as he put down his gun.

"Yeah, I know the feeling," Noin said as she leaned against the wall. "So it seems as though you're official now. You're one of us."

"Badge and identification came in the mail this morning," Heero said as he flashes his Preventers badge to her.

"Enjoying the new perks?"

"Haven't fired a gun in over a year," Heero said as he looked down range. "I must say… it feels good."

"I'm not sure if Relena would be happy to hear that."

"Relena's not here."

"Speaking of."

"She's safe, she's at home," Heero said. "Don't worry, I'll be back in Vustgaarde before she wakes up."

"Good," Noin said with a smile of relief. "Your work has been exemplary. Katerina didn't think you would be up to it. You know, babysitting duty."

"It's not the worst thing in the world."

"That's what I said. But remember, you have to take care of yourself as well," Noin said as she glanced over at Heero.

"I'm fine."

"I know you think that. But in the long run, you can't just be _fine_. People can't just subsist. You gotta find something to do with your life."

"I'm doing this."

"No, I don't mean this," Noin said as she gently shook her head and folded her arms across her chest. "This is a job. This isn't a life. And it's a mistake to confuse the two."

"You got something on your mind, Noin?" Heero asked as he took a seat on the bench next to him.

"Yeah, no… maybe." Noin closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the wall. "I think I might need a break."

"So?" Heero said in his signature deadpan voice. "Take a break."

* * *

 _Downtown Vustgaarde_

 _A few hours later_

Heero had settled into a routine after the first month. He still had the occasional nightmares and still slept very little but even that had become ordinary. Being sleep deprived wasn't new. It had been part of his training to operate under minimal sleep and high stress. He had methods of dealing with his insomnia. He tried not to check clocks very often, he relied heavily on energy drinks and coffee to stay alert, especially in the brief hours when he was in direct contact with Relena. He did not want himself to be a cause for concern for her.

He waited for the sun to rise as he did every morning. He sat, shirtless, on the floor of his empty apartment, in front of the balcony overlooking the street. One could be forgiven for thinking that he was meditating if not for the array of weapons splayed out in front of him. He controlled his breathing, inhaling and exhale with precision and intent.

He put the blindfold over his eyes and relaxed his hands.

"Begin," he said.

His hands reached out and immediately found the slide, barrel, and recoil rod and in one swift motion snapped them together. He then found the receiver with his other hand, collected the heaviest magazine between his fingers, and brought the two pieces together. He finished reassembly by loading the gun with the magazine before calling:

"Time."

He took off the blindfold and inspected his work. He couldn't fire the gun but other than that, the gun seemed to have been assembled properly. He then picked up his phone that sat next to him on the ground and checked his time. _Eight seconds._ It wasn't bad but it wasn't good. More importantly, he was getting slower. He put the gun and his phone down, he tried to relax as he watched the sun rise over the rooftop of the buildings adjacent to his own. But he was starting to worry.

* * *

 _Vustgaarde University_

 _A few weeks later_

"But the Battle of Grandson was only the beginning. If the lords and knights of Burgundy thought this was just an isolated defeat and the natural order of things would be restored soon enough, then they were in for a rude awakening. Next week, we take a look at the shifting tides of late medieval European warfare, the advancements in infantry tactics, the revolution of pikes, and the decline of the knightly classes." Professor Scharenberg announced enthusiastically, as if to compensate for the ever declining enthusiasm of his students. "Don't forget to read chapter 7 and 8 in your textbook. Oh, and I almost forgot, your essays have been marked. Your grades have been posted online but if you would like a little more insight into your grades, you can pick up your essays in this pile right here."

The crowd of students began to slowly file out into the aisles and out of the lecture hall. Most of them weren't particularly interested in seeing what they had been deducted on their essays after having checked their grades online. A few stayed behind to pick up their actual essays, including Relena, Matilda, and Helen. They waited patiently for the crowd to clear before they made their way down to the front of the lecture hall.

Relena sat down in one of the front row seats and began to read over the red marks on her essay.

"Disappointed?" She heard his voice.

She looked up, wide eyed and a little surprised that he was speaking to her at all.

"No," Relena said with a contented sigh. "I can't be really be disappointed with 88.5% now can I? That would just be greedy."

"Not if you deserve better," Heero replied plainly.

"How did you do?" Relena asked.

"Good."

"Just good?" His vagueness always peaked her curiosity. "Well that's not really fair, is it? I showed you mine…."

Heero sat down in the chair next to Relena's. He surreptitiously slid his essay underneath the fold out table to her as if sharing classified documents.

"95%?!" Relena let out with an expression of incredulous disbelief with a hint of jealousy.

"I believe that qualifies as good."

"I think that qualifies as great," Relena said as she handed back Heero his essay back. "Well, congratulations I guess."

"I suspect Professor Scharenberg doesn't share your general disdain for war, nor you, his enthusiasm."

"He doesn't seem like a war monger to me."

"He's probably not, but he likes the idea."

"What's there to like?"

"The game, the skill, the valour, the sense of purpose…"

She was just about to chastise him and ridicule the very notion of using human lives in a game. That's how Treize and her brother imagined battle and she thought better of Heero. But then he mentioned _purpose_ and her words stopped just short of their utterance. Instead, she merely offered him a compassionate frown. She didn't quite understand the feeling but she knew that it was real for him.

"Noin is leaving Earth," Relena said in an attempt to change the direction of their conversation. "The Preventers are throwing her a going away party. Are you going?"

"No, no, I didn't know about it," Heero answered. "Where is she going?"

"Back to Mars, I think," Relena said as she turned to look at Heero. "It's where she was stationed immediately after Mariemaia's coup."

"Why did she come back to Earth?"

"I don't know. I suppose she thought she had to take care of me," Relena answered. "As a favour to my brother, I think."

Heero's eyes widened at the mention of her brother. He hadn't thought about Zechs in years. He didn't have to. He had almost forgotten that he was her brother. He and Zechs had an implicit agreement, that victory would be total and he who triumphed in the end was deserving, so long as each fought with ceaselessly and without restraint. He could live with that. There was no enmity between the two. But even then, he betrayed the warrior's code. For her. And what he felt then, against every fiber of his being, every instinct that Zero had instilled in him, that caused him to show mercy, he felt a hundred fold more sitting next to her in that university lecture hall, two years later.

The lecture hall was nearly emptied now. It was just Relena, Heero, and her friends. They waved her over. He grabbed her hand just as she was about to get up. Stunned, she sat back down, looked to her friends, and gave them a look of _I'll catch up in a bit_. They understood the signal and left. It was just the two of them now and even then it took him a few moments more before he could summon up the courage to speak.

"I don't think I've…" Heero stopped again to steady his voice. "I've ever apologized for what happened."

"What are you talking about?" Relena asked.

"For what happened to him. To your brother."

"Heero…" Relena said as since winced slightly.

"I don't mean to… drag up old memories but…" As hard as he tried, he couldn't find the words. "I'm sorry. I guess that's it. I know that it doesn't count for much now. And it certainly doesn't fix anything—"

"It's okay," Relena interrupted. "I don't blame you for what happened on Libra. And you shouldn't blame yourself."

"I…" He wasn't sure what he was about to say. He didn't think about it. And perhaps that was what was so scary. Talking with Relena was easy, too easy. He naturally wanted to tell her things, things he hadn't even acknowledged himself. He was losing control of himself. First, his ability to sleep, then his control over his own body, now his mind and his words. He could feel himself breaking, tearing at the seams, years of training and discipline becoming undone. "I have to go."

He got up to leave.

"Will I see you at Noin's party tonight?" Relena asked before he could run off again.

"Relena…" Heero said softly as he looked over his shoulder at her. "I don't want to disappoint you anymore than I already have."

* * *

 _Relena's office, Brussels_

 _Later that night_

Relena hadn't had much use for her office in Brussels since the beginning of school. She was in Vustgaarde most days and when she did have the odd face to face diplomatic meeting, it was usually in one of the various restaurants that were popular with dignitaries in Brussels or if it was informal, in the halls just outside the Supreme Assembly. She had forgotten use spacious her office was.

It was located inside the Ministry of International Affairs across the street from the Supreme Assembly. It was a large gated compound with various sub-divisions. Unlike Parliament, it was not opened to the general public and therefore less ostentatious in its design and appearance. Relena's office was on the fifth floor of the Extraplanetary Affairs building. It was a large room, flanked on all sides by glass. It was furnished with square couches and office plants that required minimal maintenance. If she looked out her window, could see the adjacent parking structure and on the other side, the atrium of the building and down into the lobby.

She had decided to get into Brussels early so that she could get some work down before heading to Noin's party. She was far more productive in her office than she was at home or even in the University library. She managed to answer a week's worth of emails that had been piling up and even finish a few chapters of her readings for the following week before Quatre and Matilda showed up at her office to pick her up.

"Are you ever not working?" Matilda said as she pranced into Relena's office.

Relena looked up from her computer and smiled at the both of them. "I figured if I was going to be in the city anyways, I might as well get something done while I was here."

"Your office is so fancy so…."

"Grown-up?" Relena laughed as she stood up to greet the both of them. "Yeah, I noticed that too after being away for so long."

She maneuvered around her desk and gave them both a hug.

"It's good to see you again, Relena," Quatre said. "How's school so far?"

"Busy, busy," Relena said with a chuckle.

"She does it to herself," Matilda teased.

"Well, as long as you can handle it all," Quatre said.

"Hey, you finish my house, I'll have one less thing to worry about," Relena said.

"She likes to call it a house," Matilda commented, maintaining her teasing affectation.

"Is Heero coming tonight?" Quatre asked.

"I don't know." Relena sighed as she threw up her hands. "He said something about not wanting to disappoint me. You know what would be disappointing? If he didn't show up tonight."

"Well, are you ready?"

"Do I look ready?" Relena asked as she took a step back so that the two of them could appraise her appearance.

"Oh stop it, you look fantastic and you know it." Matilda said as she grabbed Relena by the arm and started to drag her out of her office.

* * *

"From her legendary missions in OZ, to being an instructor at the Lake Victoria Academy, to acting as the head of the Imperial Guard for our dear Vice Foreign Minister, to serving on the Peacemillion during the climactic final months of the war and fighting in the resistance against Dekim's coup, to Mars and back, our dear Lucrezia Noin has had quite the career," Director Une said with a loud booming voice as she held up her champagne glass. "So here's to you, safe travels, my friend."

The small little bar in downtown Brussels, filled with Preventers, government officials, and friends, erupted into applause as Director Une finished her toast. Noin was a popular personality in Brussels and was an acknowledged war hero. One of the few. Relena and Matilda joined in the adulation as they waited for the bartender to make their drinks. A crowd of well wishers had gathered around the guest of honour. Relena patiently waited for the crowd around Noin to disperse before approaching.

"You may not believe this but I'm going to miss you constantly looking over my shoulder," Relena said as she approached Noin.

Noin smiled at the girl as she reached out and embraced her in a hug.

"You know I still worry about you," Noin said.

"Don't, I'll be fine. I promise," Relena insisted.

"Don't have too much fun while I'm gone," Noin laughed.

"You know me, I'm too timid for anything like that."

"He's proud of you. I don't know if he's ever said it but he is," Noin said.

"Tell him, I'm sorry. I wish he could come back, I really do," Relena said as her voice trembled slightly.

"He understands," Noin said with a compassionate smile. "He knows what he did. He's okay being a dead man. Believe me, he'll be fine."

"As long as you are there to take care of him, I don't have to worry."

* * *

It was a cold night to be standing outside for an hour. Occasional gusts of wind would blow past him, causing his hair to obscure his vision. But Heero was used to the cold. He had done battle in the cold of the Antarctic. It was in those moments he felt the most alive. But not this night. And not this cold. He felt numb standing outside in his black leather jacket, hands tucked in his jean pockets, still as a statue, staring into the bar where the Preventers and other friends of Noin had gathered to say their goodbyes.

He hadn't decided if he wanted to go in yet.

Perhaps he was scared. He had bought into the notion that he had conquered fear long ago. If he wasn't afraid of a bullet, if he wasn't afraid of falling from impossible heights, if he wasn't afraid to die in battle then he must have conquered fear. Then what was this that he was feeling? What was this moment of indecision, what was this moment of uncertainty? Was this not fear? Had he been lied to by his mentors? No, he just couldn't live up to his creed. _Act on his emotions._ How could he act upon something he didn't understand anymore?

He watched her from the outside as she appeared and disappeared from his line of sight, effortlessly mingling with the crowd. She was the life of the party. Everyone wanted to talk to her, everyone wanted her attention. And she was generous with it. How could he dare approach her? What right did he have to a second of her time? How small he was. And she would see that the moment he stepped inside. She would see him as they saw him, as the world saw him. Insignificant and unworthy of her attention.

"You gonna go inside?"

Heero turned his head to find Noin, standing just outside the front door of the bar.

"I don't know yet," Heero answered plainly.

"She'd like to see you."

"She sees me everyday at school."

"That's not what she tells me," Noin said as she leaned back against the wall and folded her arms across her chest. "She tells me you avoid her, duck out of class early. You know, except for today. Now you're avoiding her here."

"I'm not avoiding her."

"What do you call this then?"

Heero didn't respond.

"She told me about what you said to her today. Don't let what happened to Zechs happen to you," Noin said. "Don't waste the life you've been given. You were the one who made it out of Libra. You were the one who saved the Earth. I think you forget that too often."

"You don't know what it's like."

"I don't know what it's like…" Noin said incredulously, "I've been fighting since I was ten years old. I know how difficult it is, Heero. But there's no other alternative. You either learn how to live in this world or you go on forever holding onto the past while the world moves on without you. She's still waiting for you, but she won't wait forever."

"I'm not asking her to wait."

"I know you think you're better off dead. That was the plan all along wasn't it? Let me tell you something you already know. Dying is easy. Living is hard."

"What am I supposed to live for? I've already completed my mission."

"Find something, anything. You're a free man now Heero. You're no longer bound by a mission. You get to choose what comes next."

"How is anyone supposed to choose?"

"First step to being human, you have to talk. Talk to someone, anyone…"

Heero lowered his head and stared at the ground.

"And when you're ready, come join us inside."

Noin turned around and headed for the door again. She opened it and a blast of hot air brushed against Heero's cheek.

"Goodbye, Heero."

"Goodbye, Noin."

* * *

It took all of his strength and all of his courage to walk up those steps, to open that door, and to step into the warmth of the inside. The warm glow of the lights welcomed him in. There was a stillness in there, something strange and unfamiliar. He took a few more steps in. He was already there, he had already made the decision, he might as well just go all the way. There was a girl who greeted him upon his entrance.

"Welcome to St. Andrew's, are you here for War Survivors Support Group?" she asked with a warm and inviting smile.

"Yes," Heero answered plainly, trying to mask his nervousness.

"First time?" She said as if she knew, as if she could see right through him.

"Yes," Heero answered again.

"Veteran?"

"Yes," Heero answered a third time.

"Yeah," she said knowingly yet compassionately. "I can see it in your eyes. Well, come on in. We are happy to have you."


	7. His Story

_His Story_

"My name is Heero Yuy. I know what you are thinking and you're right. It's the first thing anyone thinks when I say my name nowadays. I'm not from Earth."

He looked around the room. His eyes straining from the dim flicker of the fluorescent bulbs that tinted everything in the room a sterile green. It was a far cry from the warm glow of a thousand candles that lit the sanctuary. But he understood. Heero understood why they were relegated to the basement rec room of the church. You don't want a bunch of murderers and war criminals sullying the sanctity of the holy places.

Heero could see it in their faces, in their solemn expressions and lifeless gazes. Young and old, male and female, people from all across the Earth, gathered in one place, perhaps to commiserate, perhaps just to share in their misery. They stared back at him the way he look at them. There was guilt in their eyes. There was anger. But mostly, there was a deep unmistakable sadness. And even if he couldn't quite rationally understand it, he could relate to it. They were the lost and the damned, forgotten by this world, condemned by history. Even here, in the house of mercy, they were not forgiven.

Heero played with his plastic cup, recently emptied of its contents. Hot water, not coffee. He already had trouble sleeping and caffeine would only compound the problem. But it seemed to be a ritual to have a non-alcoholic drink in your hand at these meetings and Heero had no objections to taking part.

"You've probably seen me around. I know some of you already. I've been coming for the last couple of weeks," Heero said as he leaned forward, his elbows on his knees. "This is my first time speaking."

There was a response of polite applause, signalling a subtle encouragement, and an implicit understanding of significance of the step he was taking.

"First of all, I'd like to thank you all for being patient with me. The truth is I've never been talkative. It wasn't the war that made me like this. Or maybe it was. Fuck, I don't know anymore. I used to think I knew a lot of things, about life, about war, about people. _About the times we live in. Now I don't think I know anything. I never realized how different I was from everyone else until the war ended."_

The sun pierced her eyelid at an unfamiliar angle, jolting her awake. It took her a few moments to realize that she was in her suite at the Royal Windsor Hotel. She hadn't slept in that bed in quite some time. Relena didn't spend quite as much time in Brussels these days. She had forgotten how large her bed was here.

Relena's penthouse at the Royal Windsor Hotel was a gift from the world government for her crucial role in ending the war. It was a large space, roughly the same size as her townhouse. Its furnishings were far more austere and masculine than that of her place in Vustgaarde, as such despite the amount of time she had spent there in the past two years, it had never really felt like home. Despite this, it had become a sort of home to her as it became her de facto base of operations during the post-war months as her job kept her pinned to Brussels, leaving her very little time to return to the Sanc Kingdom where her mother had relocated.

She sat up. But nothing more. For a few moments, she merely stared at the patterns and curves of her duvet as they contoured her legs underneath and flowed effortlessly off the edge of her mattress. She was still half-asleep and she'd be lying if she said that she wasn't at least a little hung over.

Noin's party had gone on longer than she had expected. Relena had forgotten, that despite their uniforms and their gentlemanly appearance, many, if not most of the Preventer Agents were former soldiers of the Alliance or OZ. And being such, partied like soldiers. They liked to drink, and they liked to drink in excess. It was all Noin could do to keep her male colleagues from getting too rowdy. The owner of the establishment had threatened to throw the party out.

Everyone wanted her attention, which in itself was not so unusual but the attention she had received on that night was quite different than the usual fare. Every male Preventer Agent wanted a chance to dance with Relena. Reluctantly, but politely she offered each of them one song. For the most part, they were polite and respectful, probably just awestruck by the charismatic and beautiful Vice Foreign Minister and former Queen of the World. Most of them had ever only known her from a distance, a symbol of peace, and icon of their time. But a few of them were more bold and tried to take advantage when the DJ threw on a more sensual song. Noin was quick to step in and put an end to it. Even if there weren't any reporters and even if was just an innocent dance, Noin was still her protector for that last night and she couldn't have some blurry cellphone picture of Relena and a Preventer Agent getting a little too cozy getting out.

The sudden vibration of her phone against the hard surface of the nightstand snapped Relena out of her early morning trance. She wondered what that could be. She hoped that it wasn't work. It was Saturday and despite the fact that weekends were when she necessarily had to do her job, she just wasn't in the mood for it at that moment.

It was a text message.

 _53-99-80-43: Had fun last night. It was really nice meeting you. Hope we can meet up again sometime._

She was utterly baffled for a moment. She didn't recognize the number.

 _53-99-80-43: At least give me credit for trying. You know how nerve wracking it is to ask you out? Even by text message._

It took her a couple more seconds to connect the dots. Her memory of the previous night was a little bit hazy. And there had been so many men that tried to flirt with her. Relena had almost completely forgotten about the charming man in the navy blue business suit that actually bothered to buy her a drink. She tried to recall his name. Normally, she was good at pairing faces with names but the alcohol in combination with the sheer number of introductions that had been made the night before, made the task significantly harder. _Colin DuBois._ He wasn't a Preventer like the others. He was a lawyer, as she recalled. He worked for the city. In fact, he had been the architect of some of the bills that she had signed into law over the last two years. He was charming enough and admittedly rather handsome. He seemed sincere and perhaps a little bit naive. He was roughly her age but shared none of the usual signs of war that were so common amongst her age cohort. He must've been an aristocrat, she surmised.

She was a caught a little off guard. She had forgotten that she had given her number to him the night before. Matilda seemed to approve when they went to the bathroom together. But if she was honest with herself, Heero was still on her mind. Still, she wondered if she should text him back.

" _I was never normal. I guess I always knew that. Other children spent their childhood shooting at each other with their fingers. I did it with actual guns. I've been fighting all my life. It never bothered me. This was the life I was born into. You can't choose that. That was… until things returned to… normal. I wasn't prepared for this. I wasn't ready for normal. This peace. This tranquility. This deafening silence. The unbearable stillness. Like an itch you don't know how to scratch."_

Sensing his approach, the automatic lights of the gym turned on. It was late and therefore it was empty. The door swung open by itself as Heero drew close. The Vustgaarde University Athletic Center was a state of the art fitness training facility. It was originally a gift from alumni who had joined OZ, it was the intention of the Alliance to use Vustgaarde University to bring up their future officer class. The gym was a modern facility made of steel and glass. It housed thousands of pieces of physical training equipment, an Olympic sized swimming pool, several basketball courts, and an indoor football pitch. It originally also contained an extensive firing range, used to train future officers in the handling of firearms but after the signing of the armistice, that area was converted in studio space for yoga and dance classes.

Heero made his way passed the treadmills and airdyne bikes, through the free weights section, to the heavy bags. He dropped his gym bag on the ground and removed his hoodie. He sat down on a bench and began to take off his boots. Placing them aside, he dug through his bag and pulled out a pair of boxing shoes, white wraps, and his 14oz gloves. He quickly slipped on his shoes as he began to unravel the tangled mess that was his handwraps.

As he began to apply the cotton material to his knuckles, he looked around to make sure that no one was in there with him. This was his sanctuary. This was his oasis. After a week of attending meetings at St. Andrew's. In one on one time, a former soldier had told Heero that he should try boxing to relieve stress and to help him with his insomnia. Heero had learned the basics of fighting from Odin Lowe and received further hand to hand training under the tutelage of Dr. J. But he never considered it a hobby or even a sport. It had always just been part of his repertoire for combat scenarios.

He took the man's advice. He bought himself a pair of boxing gloves and hand wraps and went to Vustgaarde's gym the very next day. After the first session, he was hooked. He had forgotten the feeling. That feeling of his knuckles colliding against a solid mass. That sense of strength; the ability to affect change by sheer muscular force. He felt powerful in a way that he hadn't felt since he breached the presidential bunker's defenses with Wing Zero's buster rifle. He had come to acknowledge what he had been feeling all along. He missed it. As slammed his hooks into the heavy bag, he remembered the early days of his training, when Dr. J would force him to go out into the streets of the colonies and pick fights with the local gang members. It took him three months of constant beat downs, bloody noses, and black eyes before he managed to finally beat one of them. But it was worth it. In the end, all of that torture and punishment was worth it.

He finished wrapping his hands. He slipped on his gloves. He approached the bag, loosened his shoulders, and threw a stiff jab.

" _I fired my first gun when I was six years old. Shot down my first mobile suit two years later. I've been told… I've been told that they robbed me of my childhood. You can't be robbed of something that was never yours to begin with. I don't miss it, I don't wonder about it. Whatever a childhood is supposed to be, I had no use for it then, I have no fond memories of it now. I know war, its tactics, stratagems, operations, logistics, technologies, and philosophies. That world, that world I understand."_

The lecture hall was packed. And it was silent. But that was to be expected during midterms. One last opportunity for those students who had stopped coming to class to test their ability to cram, to see if they could squeak out a passing grade, and hopefully have not waste a semester. Many of them would drop the course the day after with the pre-knowledge that they completely failed that exam. Others would wait until they received their midterm results before dropping. But for those like Relena and Heero, there was no choice. It was a required course for Relena and Heero had to go where Relena went.

Heero hadn't studied. None of this was new to him. To ensure that his creation could not be co-opted by rival parties, Dr. J not only trained Heero in the mechanics and operations of war but also in its philosophies. In the old man's deranged mind, Heero wasn't supposed to be a killing machine but a warrior poet. Ever mindful, and perhaps forever troubled, but his ultimate mission and the reasons behind it.

 _"But I knew what I was fighting for. That much was clear. I may have gotten lost along the way at times but I always found my way back. I always had a purpose. I suppose I was lucky in that regard. What people misunderstand about me is that I wasn't a career soldier. I was never a career soldier. It wasn't a family vocation. It wasn't a point of honour. It wasn't a path to respectability. Motivations I understand, of course. They are real, I've seen them first hand. They genuinely have the capacity to drive men the way my purpose drove me. I've fought many brave soldiers. I've fought alongside many true warriors. All were willing to sacrifice their lives in the line of duty. I respect that. But I wasn't one of them. Mine wasn't a choice. It was, or at least I thought it was, my nature, my sole reason for being. So, as much as I understood the mission and never wavered from my objective, I knew that I didn't really want to see the end of the war."_

An hour and fifteen minutes passed in complete silence before the first person raised their hand, signalling the proctor that he was ready to hand in his exam. That person was Heero. He waited for the test administrator to come by and collect his paper. After he checked that his name, student number were on his test, and that his student number matched the one on his ID, he nodded approvingly to Heero, silently indicating that he was free to go.

He got up from his seat, collected his ID and his pens and stuffed them into his pocket. He waded his way through the sea of students towards the left aisle. He began down the stairs to the front exit. As he reached the bottom of the staircase, he looked back one last time. He found Relena, looking at him, three rows up from the front, where she normally sat during lectures. They stared at each other momentarily. He looked at her as he always did, stoic and expressionless. She offered him a melancholic smile. Perhaps, congratulating him once again on his natural academic excellence.

They hadn't really spoken or seen much of each other since their talk on the day they received the grades for their essays. That was a few weeks ago. Relena was disappointed that Heero hadn't shown up at Noin's going away party. But she wasn't surprised. Heero always hated parties, no matter what the circumstance. No matter, what she did, no matter what she tried, there always seemed to be this distance between the two of them.

" _Obviously, this sounds horrible.. And I don't mean to say that I wanted the war to continue indefinitely. I had seen far too many people suffer too greatly to not want it to come to an end. I just didn't want to survive it. I was promised that it would I would die in battle and that I had to learn to accept that. And that's not an easy thing to do, to convince yourself that you were most definitely going to die. That you were okay with that. That you want that. So you can understand that I felt a little betrayed when the ceasefire started and I was left alive, alone, and missionless at the end of it."_

Relena was frustrated that Heero had finished his midterm so fast. She had expected him to finish early but not to be the first one out of the exam room. She had meant to catch up him after the exam and perhaps clear the air about the last few weeks. They had left things unfinished. But what was between them had always been unfinished. She knew that. And she wasn't under some naive impression that confronting him this time would fundamentally change something about him, her, or the nature of the relationship. She just missed talking to him, hearing his voice, and the mere presence of his being.

She couldn't understand why he made such an effort to avoid her. Whenever she did manage to catch him and speak to him, it was never uncomfortable, belligerent, or even particularly difficult. She found it rather funny that the whole world wanted to give her their time and attention and yet she couldn't get it from the one person she wanted it from the most. Attending Noin's birthday reminded her of just how desirable she was. Not just on a professional or political level but as a woman.

She filled in the last few question of the multiple choice section and moved onto the essay section. There were three possible topics to choose from. They were more or less a condensed version of the essays that they had to write earlier in the semester. She considered for a moment, if she was going to take this chance to amend her previous essay to make it more agreeable with Professor Scharenberg's political views but decided against it. Her integrity and her values were not worth a better grade.

" _You try to adapt, you try to adjust. But you're not one of them are you? You pretend to be happy and hopeful for the future, but secretly you're desperately clinging onto a past that seems, more and more, meaningless. They just want to forget, all you can do is remember. It haunts your dreams, it fills your idle thoughts. Your past sins, your every victim. Every crime you've ever committed. You didn't have time for guilt then. You were too worried about survival. Now you have all the time in the world. They tell you you're forgiven. But somehow you know that's not true. You can't escape it. You're caught, somewhere between the future and the past. You're stuck, and you don't know how to get unstuck."_

The Preventer Archives were located on the second floor of the Valknut on the west facing side. It was an austere and lifeless space, much like the rest of the building. It was a large rectangular room, that was split between an upper and a lower chamber. The upper chamber, the one closest to the entrance was filled with rows upon rows of computer terminals. The lower chamber was where the paper records were stored. A single archivist managed the space, hardly taking notice of Heero as he walked in.

Heero checked out a laptop from the front desk and headed down into the lower chamber. He knew where he was going. He had been here several times in the past few weeks already. He strolled down the aisles of moldy cardboard boxes until he reached his destination in the White Fang section. The paper archives were a collection of intelligence documents gathered from previous organizations where digital records had been lost or destroyed. The majority of the White Fang's intelligence had been destroyed along with Libra. The remainders had been confiscated by the government of the colonies from the remnant cells of the organization.

He found the files from last time, untouched, and still with the pen and notepad that he had left in the box from the time before. He sat down on the floor, booted the laptop, and started to fan out the files in front of him. _Odin Lowe. Aoi Clarke._

" _I've... never spoken this much about myself before,"_ Heero said as he exhaled slowly, still fiddling with the cup in his hand. "Thank you all for indulging me. Thank you all for being patient."

A polite applause erupted from his captive audience. His story was vague but compelling and each and every one of them there knew a part of Heero's story for it was also their own. To hear the story of a combatant from the opposite side of the war was novel but it only confirmed what they already knew. They were all the same.

The group leader thanked Heero again for his bravery. And she told him in no uncertain terms that this was another milestone in his personal journey, even if Heero didn't quite realize it yet himself.

Soon afterwards, the group broke up for one on one time. Heero didn't feel like talking anymore so he made his way over to the snack table to grab himself a few sandwiches and a fresh cup of water. He did wish that they served something other than coffee and tea but he supposed that many in the group already had trouble with alcohol. Someone tapped him on the shoulder just as he finished up refilling his cup. He turned around to see who it was. He found himself confronted by a young woman with long dark hair and a familiar face.

"That was quite brave of you," she said with a warm smile.

"Everyone has to speak eventually," Heero replied.

"Still," she said. "It was quite the story. My name is Tatyana Milicevic."

He recognized her now. She was one of Relena's friends, one of her four constant companions.

"Yes, I remember you now," Heero said. "You're one of Relena's friends."

"Yeah," she said as she swayed awkward and rolled her eyes. "Guilty as charged."

"There's no guilt in associating with someone like her."

"You speak highly of her," Tatyana said inquisitively.

Heero didn't immediately say anything.

"How do you know her?" she asked.

"Old friend," Heero answered with intentional ambiguity.

"You're one of the Gundam pilots aren't you?"

Heero's eyes widened at the accusation.

"Zero One, I presume?"

"How did you know?"

"A guess, mostly," Tatyana said. "I was a Taurus pilot for Alliance's 145th Airborne. You and Relena, your story, what I remember from those days. It's not hard to connect the dots. We've encountered each other before. Although, you probably don't remember. At the Battle of New Edwards?"

Heero looked down in shame. The Battle of New Edwards Base, he remembered it well. It was one of the biggest mistakes of his life.

"I didn't think anyone had survived that battle," Heero said mournfully.

"I was in the rearguard," Tatyana answered.

"Yes well, please don't go telling everyone."

"I think everyone would be honoured to know that a real life Gundam pilot is among us."

"It's nothing to be proud of."

"The man who shot down Libra and saved the Earth Sphere. Nothing to be proud of?"

"That was instinct. That was survival," Heero said ruefully.

"That's how we all rationalize the war," Tatyana said softly. "But sooner or later you'll have to stop blaming yourself for everything. Sooner or later, you'll have to reconcile what you've done."

"I know what I've done."

"Not, not yet," Tatyana insisted. She took a step closer to him and forced him to look into her eyes. "You've convinced yourself, like many, that you are evil and beyond redemption. That you've killed too many. That your hands are forever stained with their blood. Now I can't speak for your experience. I was just a common soldier after all. Nothing like you. But I do know, that you've done good and that you've saved lives. Sooner or later, you will have to recognize that as well. The hardest part isn't acknowledging your what you've done wrong, but what you've done right."

"And why is that?"

"Because it means you deserve to live. And that means you will have to learn to live. And that's the hardest part. That's always the hardest part," Tatyana answered with a smile.

"So I've been told," Heero said as he took a sip of his water.

"I saw you leave the exam first today," Tatyana said changing the subject to lighter fare. "And I heard from Relena that you did exceptionally well on the essay."

"It is a class about war after all," Heero said nonchalantly.

"And that makes you an expert?"

"I can reprogram that Aries of yours, increasing the output of its twin jet engines by 159%, modify the targeting sensors with a new custom algorithm of my own design, making it 5 times more accurate, all while blindfolded," Heero said. "If that doesn't make me an expert…"

"Impressive," Tatyana said with fascination in her voice. "But Professor Scharenberg's class isn't a course on mobile suit software design."

"Let's just say I was intimately familiar with the course readings prior to my enrollment," Heero said as he looked away.

Tatyana, intrigued, repositioned herself closer and gently brushed the hair out of his face. Heero stared back at her, coldly and without expression. And yet, she could still feel his bitter misery behind the facade.

"My god..." she whispered as she continued to probe his features. "What did they do to you?"

Heero shuffled back slightly and brushed away her hand.

"Well," she said with a sigh, exhaling her curiosity and her previous tension. "Midterms are finally over. My friend Freya is throwing a party to celebrate at her place tomorrow night. Are you coming? Everyone is welcome."

"I don't do social gatherings."

"Of course you don't," Tatyana said as she rolled her eyes. "You know, part of recovery is learning how to deal with the outside world again. Or I guess… for you, by the sounds of it, for the first time."

Heero didn't give her an answer, despite knowing that she was right and that eventually he would need to learn how to integrate into society.

"Come on," Tatyana insisted. "Relena will be there."

"Is that supposed to convince me?"

"No, but she wants to see you. You've been avoiding her since you've started coming here," Tatyana said. "And isn't that the whole reason you're here?"

Heero's gaze shot up.

"It's so obvious what's going on between you two," Tatyana said with a knowing smirk on her face. "The way she looks at you, the way you refuse to look at her."

"There's nothing between Relena and me."

"Well, if you say so. You should come anyways."

"I'm not ready… not yet…"

Tatyana sighed and took a step forward. She took his hands into her own and looked at him, trying to get him to understand.

"You and I…." Tatyana said softly. "We're not like her. We're damaged. We'll _always_ be damaged. We'll always have blood on our hands. We can't change that. We can't ever erase what we've done. But that doesn't mean you can't have a life. Come to the party tonight, she'll be happy to see you there. So will I."


	8. Work

**A/N:** First, I'd like to thank everyone for their patience. I know that it has been a while since I've updated this story. I've just been a little busy. Secondly, in the interim period, this story has been followed and favourited numerous times, I am truly honoured. I've read each and every review countless times, I love hearing what you guys think of the story. That's the best part. I'm so glad that there is such an interest in it and I hope I don't disappoint.

 _Work_

"What we're not doing is asking for special treatment. We're not asking for a plaque or a statue, or even a god damn water fountain! We're just asking for a little bit of acknowledgement of our contributions!"

He was a decent enough speaker. Perhaps a little nasally, with a voice too thin to command the immediate respect of a new listener. He gestured a little too much and he wasn't aware of how the constant smirk on his face worked against him. But he spoke without pause and a good rhythm, with enough strategy in his choice of words and with enough delays and fillers, that it almost made his message seem like something less than pure vitriolic hate.

The well dressed blonde speaker at the front of the lecture hall, speaking to a crowd of about 45, was Quentin Van Der Deen, third son of Rinus Van Der Deen. Rinus was a prominent member of Romefeller and was rumoured to be Duke Dermail's right hand man. After the end of the war, Rinus went into hiding, leaving his family and his fortune behind. In the ensuing years, as the aristocratic class' grip on power waned, so too did their privileges in everyday life. Many families had invested heavily in Romefeller enterprises, only to see their wealth melt away after the destruction of the organization. Disenfranchise and displaced, many of the old aristocracy have grown to be resentful of the Earth Sphere Unified Nation and world government centered in Brussels. Such sentiments were echoed in universities all across northern Europe, the former bulwark of Romefeller.

Quentin was one of the leaders of the Home and Heritage Society at Vustgaarde University, a social club, nominally open to anyone and dedicated to the preservation of the culture and history of the recent past, but nakedly a student-led political organization, largely composed of the children of the old aristocracy, openly and loudly opposed to the policies and rule of the world government. They regularly held rallies and protests on campus, often causing many disturbances and deliberately generating hostility between themselves and the non-aristocratic students. One of their favourite rhetorical targets was Relena Peacecraft, whom they considered a tyrant and a traitor to their class.

"They eat our food, live in our dormitories, study in our lecture halls! Never forget that our forefathers built this university! This is our home! This is our birthright! And none of those incompetent idiots in Brussels and no turncoat ex-princess is ever going to change that!"

The crowd erupted into a frenzy of applause and cheers.

Heero watched from the back of the room near the exit. He tried to make himself as inconspicuous as he could with a baseball cap and a pair of aviator sunglasses but he still got a few stray looks. He couldn't help being Japanese in a European rich kid's club. He recorded the entire speech on his phone and took notes on everything, the way he spoke, his mannerisms, his favourite phrases and words, references he made during his speech, and any implied threats. If he could collect enough evidence to point to a credible threat, maybe they would finally listen to him.

* * *

 _The Valknut_

 _A few hours later_

Her office was located on the second floor, the first thing one would see after exiting the main elevators. The architects and her officers both protested against its placement there but in the end she would not be overruled. She had her reasons. Her general disdain for any decision made based off fear, being her primary one. She had always hated cowardice. During her days in OZ, she made that point perfectly clear to each and every one of her subordinates. Although the world had moved on from OZ and the Prussian militarism that was much of its animating force, she, nevertheless, was still very much a soldier. And she suspected that she always would be. She kept a vintage revolver loaded in the first drawer of her desk. If the day should come that this building came under siege, she abhorred the notion of locking herself away in a shelter. No, she wanted to be close to the elevator for the same reason she kept that gun close. She meant to meet the enemy head on.

That wasn't to say that she was some kind of affable populist, like some modern-day Hannibal braving the cold hard winters on foot with his trusted soldiers as they passed through the alps. Une was always one for the traditional hierarchy of command. Those closest to her trusted, respected, and even loved her. But those farther from her, junior agents, SIGINT analysts, and the like, had a rather tepid opinion of their leader. She wasn't Treize, and as poise, confident, and capable as she was, she never managed to capture his charisma. She knew that and perhaps even resented herself for her perceived shortcomings. But she was old and wise enough to know who she was and where she was strong. Her office reflected that self-assuredness and that natural distance. Between the office and the hallway was a large waiting room, manned by her secretary and two guards.

Heero sat in that waiting room and watched the large television mounted on the opposite wall and listened, despite the low volume, to the news commentary on the growing political and social unrest just a few blocks away from The Valknut. He had even seen some of the protesters first hand when he made his way into Brussels on his motorcycle. The general unrest was not isolated to the capital city and was, to a large extent, related to the protest movements that were happening back at the university. Heero had seen this coming months ago, although he wasn't alone in this prediction. And truthfully, he didn't care much for the petty post-war politics of economic austerity and identity reconstruction. Whatever shortcomings of the government of the day paled in comparison to the brutality and oppression of the Alliance.

"You're mother isn't quite finished yet, she said you can wait for her here." The soft voice of the secretary that manned the front desk could faintly be heard saying.

"Great," a familiar voice said sarcastically.

A few moments later, a figure emerged into the empty waiting room. She had grown considerably since last he saw her. She must've been about ten years old now, although she looked much older. He could see it in Mariemaia's face, there was a certain impenetrable gloomy angst that should've been at least been at least a few years off. But war makes you grow up fast, he supposed. Her flaming red hair was longer now as was her face. Gone were the puffy cherub cheeks and the piercing eyes of Treize Khushrenada that made her the perfect front for Dekim's insurrection. _The angel of war_. Not so much anymore. Now she was just plain old Mariemaia Khushrenada, just another pre-teen girl, dressed in a silly private school uniform, plaid skirt and knee-high socks and all.

For a moment she seemed stunned to see him, afraid even. But she was quick with her mask, quick to affect her perfectly practiced indifference.

"Great," she repeated as she plopped herself down one of the chairs on the opposite side of the room, letting her backpack drop to the ground with a loud thud.

Heero almost smiled at the girl's petulance. He had never quite grown used to the ordinary and the mundane. He had known a life of high-stakes and larger than life personalities. And even if she had been the lesser of those, it still tickled him to see her, the great Mariemaia Khushrenada, master of the Earth and the Colonies for a brief few hours, brought so low. In the end, she was just an ordinary girl. He supposed everyone he ever met was ordinary underneath it all, a fact that he was only now beginning to understand.

"What are you even doing here?" She yelled across the room, maintaining her pointless but all-encompassing teenage hostility.

"I have a meeting with the director," Heero answered.

"The director..." Mariemaia replied with faux-reverence as she slouched and folded her arms across her chest. "Tell her, she's going to have to reschedule the piano lesson. I'm already way late as it is, there's no point in even going now."

"You any good?" Heero asked.

"What?"

"At the piano."

"I don't know... maybe?" Mariemaia replied with a hint of genuine confusion in her voice.

"How's school going?" Heero asked.

"What do you care?" Mariemaia shot back.

"Small talk, I've been told that's what people do in situations like this. I'm trying some new things," Heero replied calmly.

"You're pretending to be human? Ewwww…." Mariemaia recoiled.

"You're pretending to be a petulant teenage girl? Or are you actually a petulant teenage girl? I can't decide which is more pathetic."

"Fuck you."

"Fine, you don't want to talk. I get it. Thought at least you might want to try with someone who knows what it's like. But whatever, have it your way."

They sat in silence for a few moments, a tense stand off accentuated by the faint sounds of the TV news. Finally she broke, he knew she would. Heero had an ability to read people like her, like himself, those born in the flames of war. Those who weren't quite welcome in this new world. He guessed that she was having a hard time of it as well, although it didn't take a genius to connect her current attitude to her troubled past.

"They call me Bloody Mary at school," Mariemaia said in a soft whisper.

Heero looked at her but didn't respond. He knew that she didn't need to hear him say anything, only that he was listening.

"I mean, I get it! I've done some horrible shit! Believe me, I know what I've done. I deserve the nickname," Mariemaia said in frustration. "It still hurts… you know?"

"Yeah… I do," Heero answered somberly.

It could've been his imagination but he thought, in that moment, he saw a hint of a smile on her face.

Just then, they both turned towards the front of the room as they heard the approach of footsteps.

"Director Une is ready for you now." her secretary said to Heero as she walked in.

Heero nodded politely and stood up. He made his way across the room towards Mariemaia and headed towards the glass door that led into Une's office proper. The overcast light from outside, came piercing in through Une's office windows through the glass doors, catching a portion of the girl's face. The soft shadows of her expressionless face, reminded him of what he had seen so often in the mirror, something he was only now beginning to understand.

"Sorry about ruining your plans for world domination," Heero said.

She didn't look at him but she did nod slightly in gentle acknowledgement of his words, half joke, half sincere apology.

Heero stepped into Director Une's office. The austere minimalist of the space caught him a little off guard. He had always just assumed that she shared Treize's affinity for Victorian decor. But clearly she was her own woman, a fact that Heero often overlooked. She was sitting at her desk, her attention fixated on the monitor positioned slightly to the left of her natural sitting position. She didn't acknowledge him as he came in but he knew that she was aware of his presence.

He walked over to her desk and dropped down the files he had been carrying right in front of her. Opting not to sit down, he turned around to look through the Venetian blinds back out into the darkness of her waiting room. He could still make out some of the images on the television.

"Things seem to only be getting worse," Heero remarked.

"It turns out, it's rather difficult to run to entire world," Une commented flatly.

"The reports."

"You could've just sent them in."

"I wanted to discuss something with you in person," Heero said as he finally turned his attention away from the television and sat in the chair facing her desk.

"I figured as much," Une said with a disinterested sigh as she opened up one of his reports.

"It's about the Home and Heritage Society," Heero said.

Une said still, slightly leaning back in her chair, as she intently read Heero's report. She wasn't interested in it and Heero knew that. The welfare and safety of the princess, as she always referred to Relena, was of little concern to her given Relena's lofty situation. A point she had made quite clear on several occasions. But even still, Une was never just outright dismissive about the concerns and opinions of those she respected. Despite their differences and despite their conflicting roles in the Eve Wars, there weren't many people she respected more in this world than Heero Yuy.

"You're overreacting," Une said as she finished and put the report back down on her desk.

"Have you seen what's happening just down the street from here?" Heero asked rhetorically, as he pointed to the television.

"The disgruntled progeny of the old aristocracy and the protesters out in front of the Supreme Assembly are hardly the same."

"Many of the old aristocracy are leaders within the protest movement."

"Even so, the entitled rich kids on your school's campus are hardly a Preventer concern."

"Did you read the part about Van Der Deen? And his veiled threats against Relena?"

"Yes, I did," Director Une said as she folded her arms across her chest. "And I remain unimpressed. He's a blowhard, a gascon, a frankly… a little bitch. He's the kind of kid that during the war, we would give latrine duty to. He's nothing to worry about."

"He's got quite the following on campus."

"And what can they do?" Une asked with a derisive smile.

"I'm just asking for a few more resources, a tail at least."

"I'm sorry, Heero. But the princess already has a full security detail when she's here and when she visits space and she's got you when she's on campus, how many more resources must I divert her way?"

"I would've thought him being a Van Der Deen would've meant something."

"You wanna catch me a Van Der Deen, be my guest," Une said as her voice suddenly filled with inspiration. "Rinus hasn't been seen or heard from, outside of a few unconfirmed sightings, since the moment you shot down Libra."

Director Une leaned forward and put her elbows on her desk and finally looked at Heero directly. Her expression softened to a degree that almost resembled the old Lady Une.

"Look, I understand if you're bored. Frankly, you were never trained for this kind of thing. If you don't want to watch over Relena anymore, I could always transfer you to another department."

* * *

 _The Supreme Assembly_

 _A few blocks away_

It had been raining sporadically all throughout the day, causing the protesters just outside of Parliament to grow more and more irate as they got more and more wet. By mid-afternoon, the crowds have gotten so rowdy that Relena's driver and head bodyguard had decided that instead of entering the Supreme Assembly from the front, it would be far more prudent to go through the underground parking system that incidentally linked all of the major government buildings together.

Relena was a little disappointed as she didn't like hiding herself away from the public. No matter how angry people were, she believed that they could always be reasoned with and to concede to violent action was to be complicit in the violence itself.

Relena and her entourage made their way from the underground parking lot, passed the security check-in and up the stairs into the main structure. The Supreme Assembly was originally the known as the Royal Palace of Brussels, the ancient seat of power of the Kings and Queens of the Belgians. During the early days of its existence, it housed the royal family. But in later years, as subsequent kings conducted more and more official state affairs at there, the function of the palace changed to that of a public institution. When the nation was dissolved to form the original power block that would in time become the United Earth Sphere Alliance, the Royal Palace, with its historic ties to the Belgian monarchy, became the natural choice for the central legislature. But as Romefeller, grew in influence following the establishment of the Alliance, power moved from Brussels to Munich, where many of the aristocratic families of Romefeller were based.

It wasn't until the Alliance was dissolved and Romefeller's grip on power was broken, did the functions of the world government return to Brussels. The building itself largely still resembles the original neoclassical building although with quite a few newer additions, the underground parking lot and tunnels being the least conspicuous of them. The Supreme Assembly was heavily damaged during Mariemaia's insurrection and large portions of the structure are still being reconstructed and renovated. While the exterior of the palace has changed very little since its creation, the interiors have been remodeled almost constantly since the days when it was chosen to be the seat of government for the Alliance. In stark contrast to its conservative and Romanic exterior facade, the inside, including the Chamber of the World, the central legislative chamber, are thoroughly modern.

Once Relena had passed the final security checkpoint on the ground floor, she parted ways with her security detail and continued on towards the Chamber of the World with only her assistant Cindy following closely behind her. Upon entering the large semicircular auditorium, she noticed that half the lights weren't on and the normal ambient white noise of thousands of dignitaries from across earth and space chatting amongst each other was replaced by the very noticeable sounds of shuffling paper, wool suits rubbing against leather chairs, and the clicking of fingers on keyboards. There weren't many people in the Chamber of the World that day.

With a light foot, Relena made her way up to a seat at the judge's bench that was positioned behind the podium of the Speaker, and the seat of the prime minister. Normally, these seats would have been occupied, not by judges, confusingly, but by the leaders of the respective parties, with the leader of the majority coalition and the minority leader, in the center left and the center right seats, respectively. But it seemed that the legislature was not in session today and this was an informal hearing as half of the judge's seats were unoccupied and a woman and a man she recognized, neither of whom were party leaders, sat in the remaining seats. Relena snuck up behind the woman and slid into the empty seat next to hers.

"Hey," Relena whispered to her friend.

It took a half second to snap the woman out of her daydream but her eyes lit up when she saw Relena.

"Hey yourself," she replied gleefully as she turned to face Relena. "Look at you, dressing your age again."

Relena blushed a little as she looked down at her signature beige pantsuit. She had to admit, it had been a long time since she had worn something so formal, a tight fitting suit that barely allowed the natural movements of a human being and sensible heels, too tall to be completely comfortable but not tall enough to be sexy and fun. At the beginning of the school year, she was excited to dress up like a girl her age, sunglasses, halter tops, jean shorts, and sandals. And it was indeed fun for a while, but having to think and pick out a new outfit everyday soon became a little exhausting. She did end up enlisting the help of her stylist after a month. She figured that wasn't cheating on her commitment to college and being normal. It was just getting dressed afterall. It wasn't like she used her influence to manipulate her grades.

"You see me as _this_ old," Relena said as she gestured her hands across her outfit. "Hopefully no one else does."

"Oh, stop it, you know you look great. Need I remind you of the photo taken at the signing of the armistice two years ago. A group of old white men standing in a row and then… you."

"I did look good that day, didn't I?" Relena commented..

"What are you doing here, today? Don't you have school?"

"School's out, baby. I just finished my final midterm yesterday. Time to unwind."

"So you came here?"

"I missed it," Relena said with a forlorn smile. "I miss the rush, the excitement of this place. I thought I'd come in and sit in on a session."

"Well as you can see, the legislature as not in session," she gestured to the mostly empty space.

"Right, forgot it was friday."

"The suits sure work hard don't they?"

"So, what's this all about then?"

"Municipal stuff, small time, beneath your concern."

"Oh right, the housing redevelopment project in and around Brussels."

"So, you saw the protesters outside too, did you?" The woman said flatly and sardonically.

"Had to come in through the underground parking lot." Relena said. "Is that why you're here? The housing? What happened to the MA3H resource satellite development project?"

"More pressing concerns," she answered with a heavy sigh. "Apparently the fate of the houses of the aristocracy is more pressing than a resource satellite infrastructure project. If you ask me, this and every hearing on the issue is a waste of time, but what do I know?"

The woman knew a lot. She was Alicia St. John, a 25 year old ESUN development advisor, from Eritrea. She was the daughter of an American doctor and a local business woman. She attended Stanford University and spent the war years volunteering and working for nonprofit organizations and charities. After the war, as power shifted in the Earth Sphere Unified Nation shifted from Romefeller to the more progressive parties, she was personally drafted into the service of the government by Relena, due to her record of academic excellence and her impressive resume. The meritocratic atmosphere fostered by the post-war government allowed her to rise quickly. After being shopped to various agencies and departments, mostly related to reconstruction and development, she landed a position as Deputy Director of the International Human Development Agency, a task force created by President Hoch whose duties ranged anywhere from allocating remote satellite settlement projects to helping with the logistics of the refugee crisis.

Alicia and Relena, over the course of years, and become close acquaintances, friends even. But given their hectic schedules and differing work obligations, only managed to see each other once every few months in Brussels, usually by happenstance. They would usually make a point of at least time to share a meal whenever they ran into each other. They were natural friends as both were overachievers, ambitious, and young women in a city run by old men.

"If this is a municipal concern, why are you guys having the hearing in the Supreme Assembly?" Relena asked as she pulled out her laptop from her bag.

"You know Romefeller, neutered as they are, they can't comprehend a world where they are not the very center of it," Alicia said as she rolled her eyes. "They plan to appeal this case to the Supreme Court. We are but a humble step on that journey."

"Please tell me you're going to deny them."

"I'm sure we will, that won't stop them though. They love those damn houses."

"You know who can use the spaces those houses occupy more? Low income families and refugees."

"You tell them that!" Alicia said with muted enthusiasm as he furiously gestured her hands towards the grumbling lawyers down below. "Seriously, they'll listen to you."

"This is your fight, sister," Relena said as she leaned back in her chair and threw her hands up. "I just stepped into the wrong room, at the wrong time."

"Thanks for your support…"

"You guys aren't going to cave are you?"

"Fuck no… well, not if I have anything to say about it. Joachim, doesn't seem so steady though." Alicia said as she leaned forward slightly and stared past Relena.

Relena turned and looked in that same direction. Several seats down, a couple of bodies away was a serious looking man white grey hair and a gaunt face. He was Joachim Euler, Director of the HDA and Alicia's boss. Relena knew him too, insofar as she was familiar and casually acquainted with everyone in this city. He was a gentle and thoughtful man, humorless, but not mean-spirited. He was a taskmaster but ultimately had the compassion required for his position. He had always been polite to Relena, perhaps a bit too polite. She wondered if he would buckle under the pressure.

"He seems okay right now," Relena remarked.

"I think he will be," Alicia agreed. "But I'm not worried, we have support from outside the agency anyways. The drafter of the legislation is a bit of a firecracker."

"Oh? A good lawyer working for the government? Well now I've heard everything."

"He's a local guy, young, handsome, works for the city. But I suspect he won't be there for long."

"Who is he?"

"Colin DuBois."

Relena suppressed a giggle.

"What?" Alicia asked suspiciously.

"Yeah, I know him," Relena answered with a smug smile. "Well, I met him, at Lucrezia Noin's going away party."

"Ooohh," Alicia howled as she shimmied her shoulders.

"No, it was nothing like that." Relena said as she brushed off the implication. "Well maybe, he did ask me out."

Alicia raised and an eyebrow and shot Relena a look.

"By text," Relena added. "The day after."

"Well, you can't blame the guy."

"Who does that?!"

"Uhhh, guys who want to ask out Relena Peacecraft, sorry Darlian, oh whatever, both versions of yourself are intimidating as hell," Alicia said.

"Oh stop," Relena said as she rolled her eyes.

"No, you stop. You can deny it all you want, but you are intimidating. You can try to fool the world and yourself into thinking you're a normal girl, but you're not. You saved the world… Even hardened soldiers are afraid of you."

"Yeah, that's not true at all."

"Oh yeah? What about Heero Yuy?"

Relena's eyes widened as she almost fell out of her chair.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Relena said unconvincingly.

"Yeah okay…" Alicia said with a knowing nod. "You know how many times you've brought him up in conversation over the years? At least once per meeting. Girl, you're not slick."

"That's… that's not the same at all." Relena stumbled over her words.

"Yeah I know, I know. It's kind of the reverse situation, you like him. But I'm sure he likes you too, as I said, he's intimidated by you, like they all are."

"Heero Yuy is not intimidated by anything."

"Except by his little blonde princess," Alicia said with a devilish smile.

Relena turned away from her friend in an attempt to her flushed cheeks. Luckily for her, their gossip session in the pulpit of the most august institution in the world was cut short by one of the lawyers representing the aristocratic coalition.

"Excuse me ladies, I'm ever so sorry to disturb your private conversation but we are in the midst of conducting state business are we not?" The lawyer asked condescendingly.

He was a portly old fellow with a curly mustache and a deep baritone voice. Normally, she would have been irate at the interruption but given that she was clearly in the wrong as their private conversation had gotten progressively louder combined with the fact that she needed an out at that very moment, meant that she welcomed the insolence.

"Of course, you are right, sir. Forgive me," Relena said demurely.

"I know that such matters are beneath your concern," the lawyer continued. "Not all of us have survived into this new era of peace as prosperously as you have. The fate of the great houses of the aristocracy are not just a matter of personal or family pride but of national heritage. Wouldn't you agree?"

Relena immediately felt the pinch the leading question.

"There are a great many things that are a part of our heritage. There was a time in the history of our civilization that the great houses and castles of the nobility were of the utmost importance in that grand tradition. But we've since developed other ideas about our collective identity. In the place of golden crowns and marble mansions, we have values and principles. Values such as love and compassion, principles such as equality and charity. Goodwill and empathy towards those who suffer, those who are ill, those who have lost. Wouldn't you agree?"

Alicia immediately perked up as she slowly realized halfway through Relena's speech that she was in battle mode. It amused her to no end that this girl, had such disparate and irreconcilable personalities within her, the demure, oblivious, and sometimes awkward girl, and the strong willed, fiery, and passionate politician. Realizing the opportunity of the occasion, she quickly pulled out her phone and discreetly began to film Relena.

"Well of course, it is easy for you, dear princess, to say. We've all read the stories about the extravagant reconstruction project of the Peacecraft Royal Palace, not everyone in the aristocracy is fortunate enough to have such luxuries now. The government is proposing to tear down their houses, their ancient homesteads, their ancestral grounds, and inviting strangers to come live in them. How would you feel, drea princess, if the government converted the Peacecraft Royal Palace into low income public housing?"

"Sir, I am flattered that you keep up with the gossip of my life so keenly. But you seemed to have missed some details. While it is true I'm currently in the process of renovating the house of my father, you seem to have forgotten that I inherited the entire Peacecraft Estate, not just the Royal Palace."

"How fortunate for you," the lawyer said sarcastically.

"Yes, quite. And upon realizing this, that I have some sixteen mansions all across northern Europe and no possible way that I could make use of all of them, I have begun the process of repurposing most of them into orphanages, hospitals, museums, galleries, and yes, even low income housing for the war refugees, that I'm sure I don't need to remind you, were largely caused by the warmongering of Romefeller."

She paused for a moment to let the lawyer respond. But he was too slow and Relena seized the opportunity once again.

"The fact is, these houses were confiscated from former members of the Romefeller foundation. The primary culprits and leaders of the organization have been tried and convicted. The rest were given the chance to repurchase their homes from the government at a heavily discounted price. The government has shown the aristocracy kindness, leniency, and clemency at every turn for the sake of peace and reconciliation. But yet, your clients remain obstinate and unrepentant. Since this was a matter of the city and not the world government, I had initially intended to remain neutral, to sit as an impartial observer. But I've heard your arguments and I've witnessed the manner in which you present yourselves in these proceedings and in the media, I remain unconvinced of your position. In fact, starting now, know that I hereby fully endorse the government's plans for these houses, and will be exercising the fullest extent of my influence, whatever that might be, to that end."

She stopped. There was silence in the Chamber of the World. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, flipped her hair, and smiled.

"Now if you'll excuse me, midterms just ended today and I have a house party to attend."

She heard the faint sound of an electronic shutter. She turned towards Alicia.

"What did you do?!" Relena asked furiously.

"That was awesome!"

* * *

 _The Valknut_

Heero let out a frustrated sigh as he forced open the glass door that led from Une's office to her waiting room. He was annoyed but not surprised. Noin had warned Heero about Une's attitude towards the campus security project. He went into the meeting knowing that Une thought it was a waste of time and money and yet, actually hearing the words and the casual disregard for Relena's safety pissed him off. But he was clear headed enough to see it from her perspective. Relena was attending university, not touring a hostile environment with active political dissidents, not counting the Home and Heritage Society and the anarchists on campus. She couldn't justify devoting that many resources to it, given that she already had a full security detail when she was on official government business.

He was snapped out of his trance when he thought he heard Relena's voice. He looked up and around. He found Mariemaia, stilling in the waiting room, now sitting closer to the TV. She looked over at Heero with an awkward stare.

"Your girl's on television," she said flatly.

Heero turned his attention towards the flatscreen. He saw her, split screen. The image on the left was Relena giving her speech in the Chamber of the World, caught on video by Alicia. The image on the right was a live feed of Relena being escorted down the front steps of Parliament, flanked by her security team on both sides as they waded their way through the angry mob of protesters. The chyron at the bottom of the screen read: Vice Foreign Minister gives impassioned speech supporting government housing project.

"Okay, I'll admit, she was always better than me at speeches," Mariemaia commented glibly.

"Shit," Heero muttered under his breath.

The media firestorm around her had just calmed down as the novelty of her attending university had finally worn off. But now, with this speech, on a Friday afternoon; the slowest portion of the news cycle, the media would continue their pursuit of Relena with renewed vigour.

He would have to go to that party now.


	9. Pre-Game

**Author's Note:** I've included a little subplot about Lady Une and Mariemaia. Mariemaia was a very interesting character to write so I thought I would expand on her a bit. Heero and Relena are still the primary characters in this story but I do want to explore some of the other characters a bit. I enjoy the world building and I think it will be beneficial later on. So many fanfics are only about their central characters are after awhile it feels as though they have hermetically sealed themselves away in a little pocket universe of their own bliss. And while I have no objections to bliss, I don't ever want to forego their own individual stories for the sake of their relationship. Relena's job isn't a lifetime appointment and maybe one day she'll have to run for election. Heero may seem to have everything figured out, except what he actually wants out of life. Fleshing out side characters, subplot plots, and the world will go a long way to that end.

 _Pre-Game_

Relena arrived at her townhouse just minutes after sunset. She was already late. Well, as late as one could be to an undergraduate house party celebrating the end of exams. Still, however relaxed the social conventions of these sorts of gatherings were, there was something within her that made her anxious at the thought of being late. Perhaps it was her aristocratic upbringing and the manners that came with it, or perhaps it was because she had lived through the war and while she was never an active combatant, she knew what it was to keep discipline and stay on schedule.

She had been delayed in Brussels by the unforeseen, but in hindsight, perfectly understandable, deluge of reporters and protestors outside Parliament. It wasn't within her nature to question herself. In fact, seeing the look on the lawyer's face reaffirmed her position. But of course, she had always had a strong sense of self and of what was right. But in this instance she did question the prudence of her ardent and loud enthusiasm, if not the convictions behind them.

She was tired. Which wasn't exactly a new sensation. She was always tired these days. Perhaps she wouldn't go to the party. Afterall, she wasn't sure if she would even fit in. This wasn't a debutante ball, this wasn't a state dinner, theis were a bunch of teenagers getting drunk off their ass and doing things Relena was far too timid to even think about. Perhaps, she could just take the night off and go to bed early. After all, how often did she have that opportunity anymore.

Not a second after she had plopped herself down onto the couch in her living room did she hear footsteps descend from upstairs. Relena's eyes opened immediately as she sat up. No one was supposed to be here.

"Oh my dear, I didn't realize you were home," Margrete said as she stopped on the last step. "I was just replacing that lightbulb you were asking about."

"Yes well, my plans have changed slightly," Relena answered as she let out a sigh of relief. "And I'm terribly sorry to have to put you through the trouble. Here I am, in the city, living alone, trying to learn how to be independent when I can't even replace a light bulb."

"You don't have the time, that's not the same thing as not knowing how to do it," Margrete said in an matronly voice. "Speaking of, I thought you were in Brussels. I saw you all over the TV earlier today."

"Yes well, I stuck my nose into a situation where it did not belong," Relena said with an awkward smile.

"Nonsense, people know you, my girl," Margrete said. "They like you and they know you mean well. Don't let that nonsense distract you. What are you still doing here?"

"What do you mean?" Relena asked.

"Midterms are over, everyone is heading to a party. I assume you were invited to one, or several." Margrete said as she leaned in expectantly.

"How did you—"

"I rent townhouses to students, my dear," Margrete answered before Relena could even finish her question. "I suspect I will be cleaning up after quite a few of you rascals in the morning."

"When then, maybe I shouldn't add to your troubles," Relena said sheepishly.

"You know you sound far more convincing on TV," Margrete said. "Go, let loose, have a little fun. You deserve it."

"I'm just a little tired."

"You can be tired when you're old," Margrete replied. "You told me you wanted a normal life while you were studying at Vustgaarde. Well this is what normal girls do after exams."

* * *

Familiar thoughts raced through of his head as he made his way down the dark and quiet country road back that led back to Vustgaarde. He had taken this route back road many times before. It was perfect for his motorcycle. He could avoid the traffic of the main highway that connected Vustgaarde to the rest of the continent and the quiet emptiness of the path gave him time to think.

Sometimes, he would reflect on what was said during support group meetings. Other times, his thoughts would drift back further to the war itself. For the first year after the war in Buenos Aires, he thought little about the war. He was disciplined enough and had the self-determination to shove those thoughts aside. He thought that's what moving on meant. It wasn't until he moved back to Europe that his mental encounters with the past began in earnest once again. In group, he learned that it was okay, beneficial even to remember, so long as he understood that the past was the past and it couldn't hurt him any longer. And still other times, he would even think about the future. Something he had never considered before. What were his plans, and what it would mean to live in this new world of Relena's making. It was the uncertainty that would always get to him. There was a time when he was certain of everything. Now he had to grapple with the fact that he didn't have any clear answers. That, he had to finally admit to himself, scared him.

In some ways, it was that very uncertainty that made him anxious on this night. What was he supposed to wear? What was he supposed to say? How was he supposed to relate to these people when all he knew of life was war and bloodshed? He was the furthest thing from normal. He knew nothing of the civilian world other than the bare minimum that allowed him to blend in.

His cultural knowledge was based off a mad scientist's attempt to shape him into a poetic killing machine. He knew Beethoven's 9th by memory but understood none of its beauty. He had been forced to read the likes of Homer, Maimonides, Augustine, Rousseau, Marx, among others while he was training for Operation Meteor. Doctor J had created for him a machine of immense power, he wanted the young pilot to understand power and what it meant to humans. But remarkable as Heero was as a child, he was still only a child and the thoughts and ideas of humanity's great thinkers, in the end became nothing but facts and quotes for him to memorize.

Not that the corpus of culture in his mind was anything of interest to those going to the party. No doubt, the Greek epics were nothing but homework and the subject of exams for the average undergraduate. But he knew nothing else. He didn't watch television, he didn't read contemporary books, and he knew nothing of popular music. There was a life of leisure, of entertainment, of human relationships, romantic or otherwise that in his childhood was forbidden to him. Now it was beckoning him. It felt strange.

* * *

 _Brussels_

The hostess escorted Katerina and Mariemaia to their usual seats. They were regulars at _Divinia_ , one of the premiere restaurants in the city. It wasn't a large restaurant, just about a dozen tables that seated no more than four or five patrons at a time. Teak wood accents lined the walls along with black and white photographs of the city. It was just crowded enough for the anyone to have meaningful private conversations while the ambient noise of the restaurant drowned out the distinctiveness of anything being discussed.

It was also a government hotspot, at least for the upper echelons of the security services and foreign relations. Here, the men and women worked with or worked adjacent to Une outnumbered those that worked in the legislature. Une was among her people here, those formerly OZ and still held her in high esteem even if the peacetime politicians didn't. And no one dared speak against Mariemaia in front of Une. It was a redoubt for both of them.

Katerina and Mariemaia sat silently across from each other, looking at their menus while their waiter filled their wine glasses with water.

"Thank you," Katerina said to the waiter with half a smile, implicitly asking for a few moments to decide what they wanted.

"Don't they ever have anything new?" Mariemaia said with a sigh of faux-frustration.

"You liked the salmon last time, it's in season," Katerina said.

"I guess," Mariemaia conceded.

Katerina closed her menu and put it to the side. She took a sip out of her water. Mariemaia peaked up from her menu as her stepmother waited for her to make a decision. She knew what was coming.

"I'm sorry about your piano lesson," Katerina said as she leaned forward slightly.

"It's okay I guess," Mariemaia said. She really didn't have a choice but to forgive her.

"I've rescheduled for Tuesday," Katerina said. "Does that work?"

"You tell me? Will you be busy then?" Mariemaia asked.

"You know I can't control that."

"Look, I appreciate the effort but you don't have to drive me to and from piano lessons if you're too busy. I'm perfectly capable of getting there myself," Mariemaia said, extending an olive branch while poking her with it at the same time.

"You know that's too dangerous," Katerina said. "I can't let you take public transportation, not after last time."

"Then get me a private car," Mariemaia suggested.

"Mariemaia…"

"You don't have to do this, you know. I understand you feel a duty to him but you're not my mother," Mariemaia said softly. She didn't mean for those words to sound spiteful, just truthful. "You don't have to be _this_ involved I my life."

"Perhaps not, but you are the closest thing to a daughter I will ever have," Katerina said without a hint of anger.

The waiter came back before Mariemaia could say anything else. Katerina put her hands down on her menu and smiled politely at the waiter. Mariemaia did the same.

"Are you ready to order?" the waiter asked.

"Yes," Katerina answered. "She'll have the salmon and I'll have the steak, rare please."

"Very good", the water said as he took the menus from them and walked away.

* * *

Freya and Helen pushed their way through the crowd of paparazzi that had formed in front of Relena's townhouse. With the day's impromptu speech in Parliament and the tabloid media's foreknowledge of the social calendar of Vustgaarde's undergrads, the media firestorm surrounding Relena grew out of control. She was essentially trapped inside her own home with no one but Margrete to keep the unrelenting horde at bay. She wondered how they were going to get to the party with the flood of photographers out front. Relena had insisted that her security detail remain in Brussels and that she didn't want any bodyguards around for the party. That may have been a rash decision in hindsight.

Margrete managed to let the girls into the house. Relena rushed downstairs to greet her friends.

"Oh my god, how bad is it out there?" Relena asked with a concerned look on her face.

"Nothing we can't handle," Freya said as she tossed her hair.

"Speak for yourself," Helen said. "You sure know how to make a splash."

"It was supposed to be a closed door, informal hearing," Relena explained. "I didn't mean for the whole world to hear it. The last thing I want to do is getting into Brussels city politics."

"Trust me, the people out there aren't interested in your political opinions," Helen said as she moved the blinds slightly with her finger to take a peek outside.

"Speaking of, what the hell are you wearing?" Freya asked as she approached Relena.

Relena wore a strapless black gown that trailed for several feet behind her. She looked noticeably taller to Freya, so presumably she was wearing some impressive heels as well. She wore her hair in an elegant updo and completed her look with matching diamond earrings and necklace so beautiful that Freya couldn't help but feel a sudden visceral tinge of jealousy.

"What?" Relena asked.

"Girl, you've been going to too many grown up parties," Freya said.

"Did I overdo it?" Relena asked with an expression that could have only been read as _help me_.

"That's putting it lightly." Freya took a step closer, reached behind Relena, released her hair, and let it fall to her shoulders. "There, that's a start. You need to learn how to tone it down a bit."

Freya grabbed both Helen and Relena and led them up the stairs into Relena's bedroom. Immediately the two visitors dove fearlessly into the small walk-in closet. Relena didn't actually have most of her clothes here. She had roughly around two month's supply of clothing before she would run out, some stuff that designers and brands would send her for free, which was a regular occurrence and had only increased in frequency and volume since she enrolled in university. She kept some of her work clothes on hand too, just in case she needed to take a meeting on short notice and couldn't swing by her suite at the Royal Windsor.

Relena sat down at her vanity and watched helplessly as her friends rummaged through her closet like a pair of overly excited puppies learning the joy of digging holes in the ground for the first time. She couldn't imagine what they would find, everything she had in that closet was rather casual. But perhaps Relena had misinterpreted what this party was, or what parties in universities meant in general.

"Relena, how big is this closet?" Helen asked from within.

"I don't know, regular size?" Relena answered haplessly.

"Take off that overpriced monstrosity," Freya said. "And be ready, we don't have that much time."

Relena unzipped herself and let the dress fall to the floor. She stepped out and sat back down on the chair and waited for Freya and Helen to make their final decision. She felt rather awkward, sitting practically naked except for her heels and her panties, waiting for her friends to pick a new outfit for her but she supposed this was what normal university students did. There was a part of her who always knew that something about the war had changed her. She had to grow up fast, there was no choice. But she did have a choice now, she was fortunate enough to have the choice to reclaim some of the youth that had been stolen from her by circumstance. She just didn't realize how much of that youth had been stolen.

* * *

The rest of dinner went a little more smoothly. In some sense, Katerina was prepared for it. She was a master of foresight and human motivation, it was what made her useful and capable during her time in OZ. And she remembered what it was to be a moody teenager and while Mariemaia was only 10 years old, she knew all too well how war could age a person. Katerina had been Mariemaia's guardian for a little over a year now and while there was a still a certain distance between them, perhaps there would always be, they had grown closer and their relationship, slowly but surely started to resemble that of a family.

Mariemaia finished the last bits of her salmon before she took a sip of water.

"Would you like something for dessert?" Katerina asked, having already finished her food.

"I think I just want to go home," Mariemaia answered.

"Is everything okay at school?"

"Yeah, everything is fine," Mariemaia said rather unconvincingly.

"Do you want me to talk to the head mistress?"

"I don't think that's going to do any good. I heard she lost a son during the war."

"We've all lost people we care about during the war, that's no reason for her to be giving a 10 year old girl a hard time."

"She's not the problem!" Mariemaia said emphatically.

That was one of her old interrogation tricks she used as Lady Une. She would pepper them with innocuous but intentionally misguided questions to force the frustration out of her subject. She felt bad about using it on Mariemaia but she had become more and more withdrawn over the last couple of months and getting her to reveal what she was feeling had become increasingly difficult.

"So…" Katerina said calmly as she took a sip of her water. "There is a problem."

Mariemaia just looked down at her empty plate and didn't answer.

"Do you need a full time bodyguard?" Mariemaia asked.

"God no. The meathead that drives me to and from school is enough. I don't need him following me between classes," Mariemaia said.

"Tell me how I can help you," Katerina said.

"The rich kids at school hate me because of my connection to the Barton Foundation, the scholarship kids hate me because they lost loved ones during my war, even the parents hate me" Mariemaia said. "I'd say I'm beyond help."

"We could always find you another school, or we could try home schooling."

"Yeah, just ship me off to some boarding school in L3 where I'll be more welcome," Mariemaia said sarcastically. "I don't want to be anyone's cause anymore. I just want to be normal."

"I think you'll come to learn, those of us who went through the war were never going to be normal," Katerina said.

* * *

Freya and Helen sat on the bed and covertly marveled at Relena back muscles and natural curves as they watched her throw on the top they had chosen for her. On some level they had always known of her beauty. After all, they had watched along with the rest of the world when she appeared on the world stage as the Queen of the Earth Sphere Unified Nation for the first time, resplendent and enchanting. It seemed odd to them to see her now in her naked flesh, as real to them as each other, yet no less beautiful than her original ethereal self.

Relena turned around and made her way out of her walk-in closet. The girls quickly shifted themselves to make it not completely obvious that they had been creeping on her like a couple of horny guys. They chose for a white low cut cowl halter top and a black mini skirt to match her heels. Her hair was wavy, a natural consequence of her undone up do.

Freya's eyes widened with approval. "Yes, now that's what I'm talking about."

"Relena, you look stunning," Helen added.

Relena turned to look at herself in the mirror and almost had a heart attack. She hadn't realized how much of her cleavage she was showing in this dress. Her knees clamped shut and she used one hand to try to drag the hem of her skirt down a few inches but to no avail. It was practically glued to her skin.

"I can NOT where this!" Relena squealed.

"Girl, you look hot as fuck," Freya said dismissively.

"I'm the Vice Foreign Minister," Relena said as she turned to look at the girls. "I can't dress like this!"

"You're also an 18 year old university student and this is how an 18 year old girl would dress on a night out," Freya said.

"Besides, just think of the reaction you'll get from the guys," Helen added.

"Yeah, and what about the guy from History and Conflict you always stay behind and talk to?" Freya asked.

"I don't _always_ stay behind and talk to him," Relena protested.

"His name is Heero," Helen said.

They teased her about Hero all the time. She understood why. Of all of the different guys on campus vying for a piece of her attention, and there was an endless sea of them, Relena only ever seemed to show any interest in one. Their relationship must've seemed extremely odd to them. Matilda knew but Relena wondered what everyone else saw when they watched curiously as she requested a moment of that shy Japanese boy's time only for him to run off the first moment he could.

"Right him, what about him?" Freya asked.

"I don't think Heero's that type of guy," Relena said.

"They're all that type of guy, Relena," Freya said, as if she were chiding Relena to not be so naïve.

Relena had wondered about that before. Their connection, whatever it was, however vague and undefined, was never about the that. It wasn't physical. The normal stages of teenage infatuation, if indeed that's what had happened to them on that beach and at St. Gabriel's, had been upended by the circumstances of history and the winds of war. There was never really a right time for them, there was always something bigger than demanded their attention.

Until now.

She turned to look at herself in the mirror again. She had to admit, she did look… _hot_. Which was new for her. This was the kind of thing girls experimented with, little by little, growing into their sexual selves. For Relena, it was like diving head first into the deep end.

* * *

The lights in the foyer turned on as soon as the biometric locks confirmed their identities. Mariemaia kicked off her shoes the moment she stepped inside the house and ran directly for the kitchen. Katerina took her heels off one at a time and followed Mariemaia languidly. It had been a long day and a longer dinner. There was a time in her life when she could go several days without sleep, operating at peak efficiency. The war demanded it of her. Being a glorified government bureaucrat did not.

She found Mariemaia standing on a bar stool, rummaging through the freezer when she entered the kitchen. Katerina knew exactly what she was looking for.

"Thought you weren't in the mood for dessert," Katerina said.

"Yeah well, now I am," Mariemaia said without averting her attention from her task.

"No," Katerina said authoritatively.

There was a loud thud that almost knocked Mariemaia off balance. She slowly turned. Katerina had dropped Mariemaia's backpack onto the countertop.

"Homework first, then, ice cream," Katerina said. "Maybe…"

Mariemaia pouted a little but ultimately conceded. She got down off of the bar stool and made her way to the counter. She reluctantly unzipped her bag and took out her tablet, her notebook, and her little pencil case. She booted up her tablet and navigated to her course material app.

Katerina could tell that the girl was in no mood for homework. It wasn't because she was a terrible student, quite the opposite. Her teachers have complimented Katerina for raising such a brilliant little girl, her history with a failed military coup notwithstanding. But in truth it was because of the circumstances that led up to her being made a figurehead of that coup, that made her such a brilliant child. Up until the defeat of the rebellion by the Gundam Pilots, she had been tutored by the best teachers from across the colonies. She lived like a princess, encased away from the real world, both the colonies and Earth, until the day of her debut upon the world stage dressed in the uniform of her namesake army.

"Look, I have to work too," Katerina said as she took out a thick stack of files and her laptop from her purse and placed them on the countertop next to Mariemaia's backpack.

"I can help with those you know…" Mariemaia said looking up at Katerina.

"You were quite helpful in your debriefing," Katerina said simply.

"But I know those guys, I spent years with them, I know how they think," Mariemaia insisted.

"Geometry now," Katerina said emphatically. "Hunting rogue elements of the Barton Foundation later… maybe."

It took a few more minutes of tepid resistance before Mariemaia finally settled into actually doing her homework. Not that she was enjoying it by any means. It was incredibly dull and repetitive. Occasionally she would peek over at Katerina's screen to see what she was working on but all she saw were walls of text too small and too boring to hold her attention. After she completed her homework, she surreptitiously switched apps to check what was going on on social media.

Scrolling through her feed she saw the usual collection of people's selfies, food, and whatever brands were selling. Something did manage to catch her attention though. Photos from several sources, professional and amateur alike, caught Relena Peacecraft dressed rather shockingly jumping into a limousine in front of her Vustgaarde townhouse along with a couple of friends.

"Holy shit Relena…" Mariemaia muttered.

"What?" Katerina said confused. "What happened to homework? What are you talking about?"

Mariemaia merely turned her tablet towards Katerina.

* * *

"What's taking so long?" Freya asked impatiently as she rolled down the window only to be harassed by an army of paparazzi trying to get an extra photo of Relena.

"Miss Winner thought it would be prudent to hire some security for the night's festivities given the celebrity of certain guests," the driver said politely through the privacy window. "Don't worry, it shouldn't be too much longer."

"I think he's talking about you," Helen leaned over and whispered to Relena.

"Oh, you think?" Relena replied quietly with a giggle.

"Well, since we're gonna be stuck here a while," Freya said as she reached over for another bottle of champagne. "Might as well get started on the second bottle."

Freya cracked open the second bottle and refilled everyone's glasses while they were stuck in traffic approaching Matilda's house. Limousine upon limousine clogged the arteries of the small hamlet, only twenty minutes away from Vustgaarde, where the Winner family had a house. Usually reserved for vacation purposes, Matilda ended up living in it because of its proximity to the university.

About forty-five minutes later, their limousine finally pulled up to the gate of the house and the driver stepped out to open the door for the ladies. Freya and Helen stepped out first into the initial barrage of flashes that rendered them momentarily blind. The media was kept at a safe distance by security but that didn't stop their cameras. Relena stepped out of the limo with grace and confidence. She may have looked ridiculous (at least in her mind) but she knew how to make an entrance. The media had been hounding her ever since the death of her adoptive father. She's made a few mistakes along the way but eventually she got the hang of it. Between dictators and paparazzi, the latter was far easier to manipulate.

She stood up straight and arched her back slightly and swayed a little when she walked. She looked absolutely radiant even if she was a little bit nervous about her outfit. A little bit of boob tape was all that was between her and a scandal that her political career would probably not survive. Still, she soldiered on. She posed for a few photographs, busting out a few moves she had only ever practiced with her publicist. She did the ankle cross, the side-glance, the classic over-the-shoulder, the hands on the hip, and even the little flirty kick-back. She was having fun with it, these weren't the usual kinds of photo ops that came up for her. Plus, the extra glass of champagne while they were waiting didn't hurt her confidence.

Guided by security, Relena, Freya, and Helen made their way towards the house. Relena marveled at the beauty of the structure. The Winner House wasn't bigger than any of her mansions but this was like nothing she had ever experienced before. The outside walls were lit with purple and blue floodlights and multi-colored lasers occasionally pierced through a few of the myriad windows that composed a large chunk of the forward facing façade of the building. She looked to her side as they walked along the long path that led up to the house. There were a few people hanging out between the perfectly manicured bushes, smoking cigarettes or sharing a joint, she couldn't tell which, she didn't really know the difference.

The door opened and Relena was hit by a wall of music. She lost her hearing for a few moments as they made their way into the house. Relena marveled at the space she had just entered. It was like another world. The ceiling, the walls, the music, the lights, the people. This was sensory overload. She had been to countless state dinners and an innumerable amount of balls and galas, but she had never experienced this. _Is this how ordinary people lived_ , Relena thought to herself, _had I really lived such a cloistered life?_.

And just when she needed something to orient herself, she heard Matilda's voice. "Relena!"

The blonde girl, looking casually stunning, rushed over to greet her. "Oh my god! I'm so sorry about the traffic!"

"Oh, it's no big deal," Relena answered dumbly.

"Welcome to my humble abode," Matilda said.

"I don't think there's anything humble about this place," Relena said still rather dumbstruck.

"It's not as big or as fancy as the Peacecraft Palace."

"Oh, I wouldn't say that…" Relena said. "It's certainly more… lively."

"Don't be nervous," Matilda said, sensing Relena's apprehension. "It's just a bunch of kids blowing off steam after exams."

"Somehow, I feel like the only child in a room full of adults," Relena said as she nervously rubbed her arms.

"Well you were off saving the world between the ages of 15 and 17 while the rest of us were doing this, so… there's that," Matilda joked awkwardly.

Relena merely offered Matilda an awkward smile. It was a thoughtful comment but it did nothing to calm Relena's nerves.

"Alright, let's get another drink in you," Matilda said.

"Oh no, I'm already—"

But before Relena could complete her thought, Matilda was already dragging her back the hand across the great hall and the dance floor, past the DJ and the main-stage, through the massive crowds that had convened in the narrow passage through to the back of the house. There the music was a little less deafening though and the lighting tiny bit brighter. Matilda had converted the main dining room into a bar complete with three bartenders and a couple of dozen tables, quite a few were occupied.

"Oh look who's here," Matilda said with faux-surprise.

Confused, Relena looked around for a second before she actually spotted him. Her heart skipped a beat. He was handsome, when he wanted to be. He wore what looked like a new shirt, and dress pants, leather shoes. It immediately reminded her of the time they went to the school dance at St. Gabriel's. That felt like an eternity ago. He sat at one of the tables alone (typical), with a drink on his hand, looking rather intense, which Relena knew well enough to read as awkward and uncomfortable.

A second later, his gaze fell on her and there was a slight flicker in his eye. Subtle, perhaps imperceptible to most, but Relena knew him well enough to know the difference. She definitely had his attention now. Maybe Freya and Helen were right about her outfit after all.

"Go, now's your chance," Matilda said as she put her hand on Relena's shoulder.

"Wait, what?" Relena uttered, completely unprepared and suddenly feeling a little panicky.

"Go, talk to him, take as long as you like," Matilda said as she began to physically push Relena towards Heero's table. "It's about time you lovebirds cleared the air."

And with that, Matilda excused herself leaving only Relena and Heero, mere inches away from each other, staring at each other like they had done so many times before. But this time was different. They had no excuses this time. There was no pressing war to fight, no enemy to defeat, no kingdom to defend, no extenuating circumstance to distract them from what they both felt but had never said. World peace had literally been achieved by their efforts. And all that was left now was them.

"Heero, it's good to see you out and about," Relena said stiffly.

"Relena," Heero said. "You look beautiful."


	10. House Party

_House Party_

 _Java Sea, 40 miles from Jakarta_

It was the rhythmic crash of the late night waves against the hull of the cruiser that brought him back from his transitory and short-lived slumber. He hadn't slept much in the past four days and had been in a foul mood because of it. He had never really liked the sea. Of all the various natural biomes that the Earth had and the colonies lacked, it was the sea that he thought the most pointless. Not to mention that the smell of the salt water never failed to remind him of his greatest humiliation at the hands of Treize Khushrenada.

Wufei had been on the UESS Advent for the better part of two weeks as the Preventers Special Liaison to the ESUN's South Pacific Peacekeeping Fleet. Officially, his mission was to monitor and survey piracy along key trade routes in the region. His real mission however, was to rendezvous with Sally Po in the area sometime within the next two weeks as she had sent a secret communiqué requesting extraction. The two of them had been working on observing the scattered elements of the Barton Foundation across the South Pacific where the organization still had resources and loyal soldiers. Wufei had mainly been working raids and led the Preventers' tactical strike teams in the region while Sally had gone into deep cover.

Wufei and his team were not particularly welcome aboard the ship despite the best efforts of the captain and senior officers to make them comfortable. Their status as Preventers allowed them the use of weapons otherwise forbidden under the terms of the armistice. They were perceived as being at once an arrogant organization due to their special commission granted to them by Parliament and at the same time a weak and ineffectual group that couldn't stop the Mariemaia rebellion. Wufei and his team endured endless backhanded insults and petty gossip from the crew of the Advent during their short stay.

None of that mattered much to Wufei in the end. He had never cared much for the opinions of those he considered lesser men. That's the reason why the death of Treize plagued him for so long, for despite his deep hatred for OZ and the oppression they perpetrated across the colonies, he deeply respected the martial prowess and philosophical character of Treize Khushrenada.

"Out here again?" Wufei recognized that friendly voice.

He turned slightly to greet Captain Wayland. The captain had brought him a small cup of coffee.

"We have the latest sensors on the bridge, courtesy of OZ," the captain said.

"Sometimes there's no substitute for your eyes," Wufei replied as he took a sip of his coffee.

"The pirates have probably been scared off by our presence. The survey group isn't necessarily subtle if you know what I mean."

"Maybe we'll get lucky tonight," Wufei said as he peered through his binoculars.

"Maybe we'll intercept a small Barton Foundation convoy, transporting a few Serpents," the captain said casually as he took a sip of his coffee.

"What do you know about the Barton Foundation?"

"Agent Chang, I've patrolled these seas for the past 15 years. I've lived through the Alliance, OZ, Romefeller, and the Nation. I have a family back in Bangkok. Two daughters and a hell of a wife, I know these waters" Captain Wayland said. "I see things. Strange men at port, large cargo being loaded and unloaded onto frigates. That kind of thing doesn't go unnoticed for long. And now you and your men show up. We're not stupid, Agent Chang. We know the Barton Foundation has an operation here."

"And you're just okay with that?" Wufei asked. "The would be invaders of Earth, taking refuge in your part of the world?"

"Regimes come and go," the captain said, suddenly sounding like a weary old sailor. "Brussels doesn't care about us. And we get along just fine. We have our own arrangement here. We have our own _peace_."

A few moments later, they felt a slight rumble travel across ship. They looked at each other in confusion before running back inside. Once they had reached the bridge, they could see that the executive officer was already investigating and trying to find the source of the disturbance.

"Report," Captain Wayland said authoritatively as he took to his seat.

"The source seems to have originated 19 miles, north north-west of our current position," his second in command said. "Changing course now."

* * *

 _Winner House, 12 miles from Vustgaarde_

The Neo-Gothic revival architectural details, the ornate oak wood paneling, and the crystal chandeliers of the house contrasted perfectly with the neon blue and purple motif of the party decor. There was a sublime conglomeration of the old and the new, tradition and fashion, to the night's festivities. The luxurious yet stately foundation of the Winner House never seemed to clash or compete with the spirit of freedom and youth of the temporary decor. Portraits of past Winners sat beside video installations of black and white scantily clad women gyrating to the music being played by the DJ. Lasers refracted against the crystals of the lighting fixtures to create marvelous new patterns across the marble floors.

It was all very distracting. Neither of them had been in any situation quite like this. Heero had never once been to a party of his own volition, certainly none this extravagant. He was raised on the streets of L1 and spent his youth in abject poverty but more importantly, in a state of constant training and combat, preparing for his ultimate purpose. He had to learn early on, perhaps too early for a child, that life was fundamentally unfair and that he had drawn the short straw.

Relena was closer to this world. Had she not found Heero on that beach, had her father not been killed, had she not taken up the mantle as head of the Sanc Kingdom, had she not succumb to Duke Dermail's plans for her, had she not taken up the position of the Vice-Foreign Minister of the Earth Sphere Unified Nation, had she refused her destiny, she would've been right at home in this world of glamour, luxury, and hedonism. But those things did happen, and she was made different by them. And while she recognized this world, she understood deeply, and perhaps tragically, that this was no longer home.

"Thank you," she finally answered. "You clean up pretty nice yourself."

The slight nod was the only sign that he even heard what Relena had said.

"Alright, I guess I'll get this started, like always," Relena said as she took a sip of her mojito that Hero had ordered for her.

"What you said today in Parliament…" Heero said.

"Do you really want to talk politics right now?" Relena asked.

"You make things more dangerous for yourself when you make statements like that."

"My job is dangerous," Relena said. "There's no getting around that. My decisions, my contributions, my actions effect millions. I understand the consequences of what I say. Don't think for a second that anything I do is careless."

"I didn't say that," Heero said.

"Yes you did," Relena said defiantly.

"Alright, I'm sorry," Heero apologized. "I don't mean to pester you. It's just my job."

"The war is over, Heero. You don't have to protect me anymore."

That caught Hero a little off guard. He just assumed she knew that he had been recruited by Noin. He figured that Noin would've told her before she left.

"Anyway, we haven't spoken much for while. I feel like you've been avoiding me," Relena said.

"I haven't."

"Heero, Heero, Heero, must you always be so secretive?" Relena said as she leaned forward slightly.

He could see the redness upon her cheeks covered by a thin layer of foundation. If she wasn't exactly drunk, she was getting there.

"I've been…" Heero started but it felt so odd to talk about himself. It was hard enough to do so in group, but at least among other veterans, he was expected to share and they did the same. "I've been…"

"I'm not interrogating you, Heero," Relena said. "If you don't want to tell me about what going on in your life, that's fine. I just thought we were past this."

"Nothing in my life would interest you."

"How would you know what?" Relena asked staring deep into his eyes.

"Because, I'm not like you, Relena. I'm not like them either. My life isn't interesting. I eat, I go to school, I sleep. Nothing happens, nothing ever happens," Heero said.

"Do you keep in touch with the guys?" Relena asked.

"I'll hear from them once in awhile, but they have their own lives now."

"Everyone except you," Relena commented.

Heero looked away.

"You know…" Relena said, her voice deepening slightly. "We never really talked about us. There were always things… in the way."

Heero looked up. Their eyes met, hers filled with anxiety and wonder, his cold and filled with fear.

"You don't want me in your life, Relena," Heero said.

"Why wouldn't I?" Relena asked.

"Because this… this is your world, not mine."

"You're here now, aren't you? I'd say you've done pretty well for yourself," Relena commented with a hint of satisfaction in her voice. "I didn't ask you to come tonight, I didn't drag you here. You came here on your own, there must be something, some reason, that brought you here."

It struck Heero as odd that she couldn't put two and two together. He was her guardian, was that not obvious? Why else would he suddenly return after all this time? Heero suddenly felt a pang of shame and guilt. He realized that perhaps Noin may have been right, that Relena truly did want something more from him; something he couldn't provide. And yet, perhaps of the alcohol, perhaps of the dream-like nature of the party, perhaps in that moment he was reminded of how incredibly, unbelievably, beautiful she was. Dressed like a normal girl, the common and the ethereal merged into one, his girl had grown up. Whatever the reason, he didn't want to break the illusion.

"I'm sorry," Relena said with a wince. "I don't know why I said that. I didn't mean to say that you are…"

She stumbled over her words. Relena never did that. It must have been the alcohol.

"God, why is it that I can speak to a room full of dignitaries with ease but with you, I always say the dumbest things," Relena said.

Just as Heero was about to say something to ease her nerves, two girls rushed up to their table with their phones clutched tightly in their hands.

"Oh my god, Miss Relena!" one of them said. "It's really you. Oh my god, isn't she gorgeous?"

"Even prettier in real life. We've seen you around campus once or twice but we just wanted to come by and say, we're big fans!" the other interjected.

"Yeah, we saw you on TV today! You were on fire! We love you so much! Can we get a picture with you?"

Relena looked over at Heero nervously. She didn't want to be rude and dismiss the girls without at least a few kind words in return for their praise. But at the same time, she had so little time with Heero and didn't want to give up this conversation just yet.

One of the girls noticed Relena and turned towards Heero. "Oh, we're so sorry. We didn't mean to interrupt."

"You're not interrupting," Heero said as he forced a smile. "I was just saying the same thing. She was magnificent today, wasn't she?"

"Totally!"

* * *

Little bits of debris and fuel could be seen on the gentle currents of the midnight sea just five miles out. When they had finally reached the source of the disturbance, the bridge crew, including Wufei, was shocked at the sight of the destruction upon the water. A single lifeboat rocked back and forth amidst a seascape of mangled metal and billowing black smoke. From the bridge they could see only the silhouettes of five men and a single woman standing at in the center of the vessel, with the moonlight cresting upon her golden brown hair.

Wufei raced out of the bridge and onto the main deck. As the UESS Advent drifted closer to wreckage, he could see that the men on the ship had been detained, their hands and feet bound together and their mouths taped.

She looked up at him from from her little boat and flashed him a warm smile. "Took you long enough."

The crew of the Advent and the Preventers helped Sally and her captives up onto the ship. The prisoners were escorted to the brig by the crew while Sally, Wufei, Captain Wayland, and a couple of the higher ranking Preventers convened in the captain's sea cabin for the debriefing.

Sally took a seat while the rest of them anxiously stood around her and listened to her account of the last few days. She had managed to obtain the ship manifest through her contact in the Port of Belawan and reasoned that the cargo must have been another black market Serpent. With this information, she managed to stow away on the ship and was later able to confirm the cargo. With the contents of the ship confirmed, she tried to commandeer the ship but ended up in a firefight with the crew. Pinned down and without backup, she took drastic action and rigged explosives across the key structural points of the ship. When the ship began to capsize, Sally took advantage of the chaos and managed to take five of the sixteen crew members prisoner and obtain a lifeboat before the ship sank completely.

When she finished her debriefing, the Preventers and the captain fell silent. Many of them wondered how a single woman was capable of such a thing. But Wufei was mainly irritated by her rash decision making.

"You were foolish," he said in a sharp tone, all too familiar to Sally.

"I was pinned down and outgunned, I had to make a decision," Sally retorted.

"You shouldn't have gotten on that ship in the first place!"

"I knew they were transporting a Serpent, I was sure of it!"

"Even if you were, when you confirmed that information, you should've stayed hidden until they made contact with their buyer," Wufei said.

"And let the deal go through?" Sally asked in disgust. "What do you think that badge means? I prevent things like this, I don't facilitate them."

"We could have had the buyer too, now when they don't show up, they'll know something went wrong. Did you at least get the ship's navigational logs?"

"I was a little preoccupied."

"And now we don't have anything!" Wufei shouted as he slammed his fists onto the table.

"We have the prisoners!" Sally unleashed back at Wufei. "It took a lot of effort for me to not just kill them!"

She suddenly stood up and got in his face. Sally was used to Wufei's tantrums. There was a certain fire in him that couldn't be quenched, even after he had made his peace with Treize. She used to just tolerate his belligerence but overtime, perhaps from working too closely with him, some of that fire had rubbed off on her.

"And what do you suggest we do with them?" Wufei asked. "Torture them?"

"Why not? We're in the middle of nowhere," Sally said. "No bureaucrats to tell us otherwise."

"When did we switch places?" Wufei asked.

"When did you get so weak?"

* * *

The first couple of girls unleashed a torrent of admirers that crowded around Relena soon after. All of them wanting to either take a selfie with her, tell her how much they loved her, buy her a shot, or all three. Relena tried to remain as composed as she could given the circumstances. She wasn't used to crowds of adoring fans. Crowds of reporters and protestors yes, but not unabashed admirers.

She found out quite a few things about herself during the brief exchange of words with her legions, learning that in addition to inspiring young people her age to take an active interest in politics and current events, she was also a fashion icon, and that she looked stunning tonight. Some of them remarked on how courageous she had been when she was being held hostage by Mariemaia and Dekim. It was flattering. She had never quite considered herself brave. Her life was spent around men and women who routinely risked their lives against the most impossible odds, so her political actions, while important she would readily acknowledge, had never felt brave to her.

Heero watched from the back of the room, from where he had always watched her. A comfortable distance, in the early days for him to observe her actions and assess how they would effect Operation Meteor, now simply for him to observe her elegance and grace with enough remove as to not be consumed by an uncontrollable desire. For that's what he was starting to realize, that perhaps Noin and Duo and the rest of them were right all along; he wanted her.

But he can't want her. Because he knew he couldn't have her.

"She is stunning, isn't she?" A familiar voice came upon him from behind. "Wherever she goes, whatever she's doing, she's simply flawless."

Hero turned slightly and saw Tanya, or Tatyana as she referred to herself in group. She wore a navy blue dress with matching heels. She wore her hair down as she always did. She offered him a sympathetic smile, understanding how out of place he felt at this party.

"You look very nice," Heero said. "Very feminine."

"Oh, I don't usually?" Tatyana asked.

"You don't look like a soldier, I mean."

"Yeah well, that was years ago," Tatyana said as she turned to look at Relena. "It's not an identity. It's a profession."

"I wonder if you really believe that," Heero said.

"I'm not saying it's not difficult, and I'm not even saying that it isn't weird for me to put on a pretty dress and go to a party, get drunk, and dance with my girlfriends all night," Tatyana said. "But just because it's unusual, unfamiliar, doesn't make it bad."

"Where I come from, it is. Nothing should ever be unexpected, unanticipated," Heero said. "It means something went wrong during your planning phase, you're probably about to die."

"Do you really want to live your life like that Heero?" Tatyana asked. "Mission to mission, accounting for every second of everyday. Always on a clock. No freedom, no spontaneity, no room for surprise. No room for love…"

Neither of them spoke for a moment.

"No room for her?" Tatyana finally asked as she tilted her slightly in Relena's direction.

* * *

It was dark in his cabin. But at least his had a porthole, which was more than any of the other Preventers could say about their living quarters. The hum of the engine kept her awake. Sally had always been a light sleeper. But after a harrowing night of cat and mouse with the crew of the sunken vessel, interspersed with the occasional eruption of gunfire, and just narrowly escape the incident with her life, she didn't feel much like sleeping anyway.

She sat up and stretched her back and arms. She tried to undo some of the knots in her hair by combing her fingers through them. Wufei had been rough, but it was natural, so had she. The pulling of hair was par for the course. As was as a little redness on the skin. After all, they hadn't seen each other in several months.

She found his shirt and threw it on over her naked torso. She slid into her panties. The moonlight that poured in through the little circular window allowed her to sneak out of bed without waking him and shift over to his desk where he had his laptop. Turning it on, she lowered the brightness and attached the earbuds.

Half way across the world, Katerina had just finished putting Mariemaia to sleep. She had read to her daughter another chapter of the Aesopica. Closing the door behind her, she tiptoed out towards her bedroom where she had all of her accoutrement for her weekly bubble bath. It had been a long week and she suspected, the week ahead would be even longer. She stripped out of her dress and threw on her red satin robe and let down her hair. She was just about to head downstairs to fetch a bottle of wine before she received a notification on her phone.

 _Request for encrypted communication._

It was urgent. Only a few people had access to that channel. She took her laptop out of her bag, jumped into her slippers, and made her way downstairs into the kitchen. If she had to take a late night meeting, she was going to pour herself a glass of Merlot first.

Katerina set up her laptop on the counter and booted it up. She opened her secured channel on her laptop and waited for anyone someone with her access key to connect. In the meantime, she uncorked a new bottle of AC 188 Castello di Ama and poured herself a glass.

"This is Water, reporting in," Sally said softly.

"Jesus Christ, Sally. Do you know what time it is?" Katerina asked. "And what time is it over there?"

"Thought you'd be more happy to see that I was… you know... alive."

"Looks like you're more than just alive," Katerina said as she took a sip of her wine.

A hint of redness appeared on Sally's cheeks. She grabbed the shirt and clutched it together, hiding her cleavage. "It's been a while."

"Still you didn't call over the secured line to gloat," Katerina said. "What do you got?"

"Prisoners, Barton Foundation," Sally said.

"You're sure about that?" Katerina asked, suddenly intrigued.

"They were transporting a Serpent. Managed to scuttle the ship and the mobile suit though."

"That's a little louder than I would've preferred."

"Don't start, Wufei already gave me the lecture," Sally said.

"Hmmmm… I'm starting to think these aren't isolated incidents anymore," Katerina said.

"I agree. I think someone somewhere is trying to start something."

"I thought we were being vigilant."

"The rules of the game have changed," Sally said. "They're being more careful now."

"Did you manage to get their navigational logs?"

Sally shook her head.

"Damn," Katerina said with a concerned look. "Then we're right back where we started."

"I mean, I do have five men sitting in the brig."

"Do you think they'll talk?"

"You know, with a little convincing," Sally said in an innocent voice.

Katerina was taken aback. "Was this Wufei's idea?"

"Actually, he advised against it."

"I think I actually have to agree with him in this instance."

"Relax, I'm not actually thinking of torturing them. I just suggested that to Wufei to get him riled up," Sally said with a hint of smile.

It took Katerina second. "Because it's been a while."

"Exactly."

"Then what do you suggest?" Katerina asked.

"One of them is young, can't be older than 15 or so. I feel like I can turn him," Sally answered.

"The boys were 15 when they started Operation Meteor. Look how much damage they wrought."

"Yeah but they are sorry for it. And besides, they turned out alright in the end."

* * *

As the party raged on deep into the night, the thin veneer of sophistication among the university age attendees slowly but surely began to corrode into the casual debauchery typical of teenagers. The music got louder, the dance floor more crowded, the ties, shirts, and dresses began to loosen, and in some cases came off completely.

Heero and Tatyana sat the edge of the grand staircase that led up into the bedrooms on the second and third floors. Couples and groups raced up and down those steps, hoping to claim one of the mansion's various rooms for themselves before they were all occupied. The frenzy and the change of atmosphere had not gone unnoticed by either Heero or Tatyana but they were in no mood to participate. Heero still had a job to do and Tatyana was content to keep him company.

They watched from a distance as the crowd of fans and friends had dragged Relena out onto the dancefloor. She seemed to be having fun.

"Even I didn't join the Alliance military," Tatyana said languorously. "I don't know if I'd fit in here anyway."

"It's not the war that separates us from these people. It's money. My parents died when I was young," Heero remarked. "Even before then, my childhood was far from steady. It seems like a great accident of history that I'm here at all."

"Heero Yuy," Tatyana said as she turned to look at him. "A great accident of history. Yeah, I can see it."

Just then, Matilda emerged from the crowd on the dance floor and marched over and stood in front of both of them.

"I hope you two are enjoying yourselves," Matilda said politely.

"You sure know how to throw a hell of a party babe," Tatyana said as she held out her drink.

"And you Heero?" Matilda turned to Heero.

Heero simply nodded.

"Can I speak to you alone for a moment?" Matilda asked, turning back to Tatyana.

Tatyana rolled her eyes, pushed herself to her feet and said, "sure."

Matilda grabbed Tatyana by the wrist and led her away from Heero and the dance floor into a little remote alcove of the house where the music was quiet enough so that they could actually have a real conversation without shouting at one another. Matilda turned to her friend, folded her arms across her chest, and gave her a stern look.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Matilda asked.

"What do you mean?" Tatyana replied with genuine confusion.

"What are you doing talking to Heero?"

"What? Wait, what? I can't talk to him now?" Tatyana all of the sudden became very defensive. "What are we, in high school?"

"You know Relena and Heero have a thing."

"Yes… a thing, oh I wouldn't want to get in the middle of that thing," Tatyana said sarcastically. "All the awkward glances and half conversations."

"You don't know what you're talking about," Matilda said. "They have history. I can't talk about it, okay? But it's like… serious."

"You mean that's he's a Gundam pilot? That he's the one that shot down Libra and the broke the defenses of the Presidential Palace?" Tatyana asked. "Yeah, I know that."

Matilda, surprised, took a step back. "How do you know that?"

"How do _you_ know that?" Tatyana asked, suddenly sounding equally suspicious as her friend.

Their standoff was interrupted by the sounds of scuffle. The music died soon after. They rushed out of the alcove to see what had happened. They found Heero in the middle of the dance floor controlling a man by the wrist and pinning him down on the floor with his knee. A few feet away, Relena was on the ground, looking at the two entangled men in shock. A crowd quickly gathered around them. Matilda and Tatyana quickly rushed over to the dance floor.

"Get the fuck off of me!" The pinned man managed to say with his lips pinned against the marble floor.

"You touched her," Heero said calmly. "Touch her like that again and I will break your fingers off."

"Who the fuck are you?" The pinned spat. "Her bodyguard?"

Relena just looked at Heero, completely stunned. It all had happened so fast. For the first few hours, Heero seemed like he couldn't be bothered and perhaps even hated the very idea of being the same room as her. But then, when she was on the dance floor, the moment another guy got close to her and put his hands on her ass, admittedly an act that she didn't appreciate, he rushed over and dropped the poor guy like a sack of potatoes.

"Yeah, who the fuck are you?!" Someone echoed the sentiment from the crowd.

The crowd began to get angry. That same question began to be repeatedly shouted at him. He looked around at the crowd, his tactical senses took over. There were at least a couple hundred of them. But they were just a bunch of kids. He could easily tear right through them. And he would only have to take down a couple more before the rest of them fled. He may have only been one man but this wasn't a fair fight. He caught himself in the middle of his thoughts, what was he doing? He was going to fight a bunch of university students? Really? Where the hell did he think he was? This wasn't a battlefield.

"Heero, let him go!" Tatyana shouted.

Heero looked over at her. She nodded to him, as if to say, _this is the right move, trust me_. Heero released the pressure slowly, got up and backed away. A couple of people helped the man back to his feet. A silence fell upon them. Heero looked at the crowd in front of him, each and everyone of them glowing with fear. Relena looked at him; his expression was one of utter confusion.

He ran.

"Heero wait!" Relena said, as soon as she registered that he had run off.

She pushed herself up. She looked over at Tatyana. Tatyana looked back at her with concern in her eyes. Relena chased after him. There was no way she was as fast as him but she wasn't going to just let him get away that easily. She listened for his footsteps, the rhythmic tapping of his shoes against the marble floor. She stopped for a second to take off her heels before she began her pursuit again. She made her way through the dark empty corridors of the back of the house, with only his fading footsteps to guide her. Finally, she made it to the back of the house, where there was a pool, a tennis court, a garden, and parking lot.

She braved the rough gravel against her bare feet and made her way past the cars, stopping occasionally to see if he was inside any of them. She found him by a motorcycle. He had just mounted it.

"Stop!" She shouted with authority.

He turned his head to look back at her.

"Stop running," she commanded.

"Do you still want me in your life?" Heero asked. "After what you just saw?"

"What happened in there?" Relena asked.

"I'm a killer Relena," Heero said. "I always have been."

"I don't believe that," Relena said dismissively. "I don't understand Heero. You come back after two years. After all this time, when there's nothing left to come between us... I thought we were starting over."

"There's no starting over for me Relena," Heero said. "I am who I am. I was trained to be a killer, I will never be anything more."

"That's not true Heero…"

She could almost see a smile on his face. A smile of resignation.

"Goodbye Relena," Heero said.

"Fine!" Relena shouted. "Go ahead! Run! Like you always do! Leave me here! To cry! Like I always do!"

His eyes widened. Had he done that to her? Perhaps, he always knew that he had that effect on her. Perhaps, that's why he had stayed away all of these years. Perhaps, that's what he feared the most.

"It's not fair…" Relena said as her voice trembled. "It's not fair that only you have this effect on me. It's not fair that I'm the only one who cries."

"Relena…" Heero said.

"No Heero," Relena said defiantly as tears began to stream down her cheeks. "You don't get to ignore this any longer. You don't get to pretend like you're not hurting me, not anymore. Every time you run… Every time you turn your back on me… It's almost as if you… enjoy it."

"Nothing could be further from the truth," Heero said.

"Then please, Heero," Relena whimpered. "Tell me the truth."

Heero got off his motorcycle and turned to face Relena. Slowly he approached her. He stood mere inches away from her. He could see her chest heave up and down, the quiver of her skin, the trembling of her lips. He wiped away her tear, as he had done the first time.

"I'm not good enough for you Relena," Heero replied. "My hands are stained with the blood of too many, you deserve someone better, someone pure."

"I don't care about that…"

"You should… and in time, you will…" Heero said. "We were an accident... an accident of history. A victim of circumstance and war. Your people are in there. Mine… they are either in prison or in the grave."

"That's bullshit…" Relena said, her voice shaking. "Just tell me you don't love me… and you can leave forever."

"It's because I love you, that I have to leave…"

Heero placed his finger under her chin and lifted her gaze to his. Their eyes locked and in that moment, she could see the truth in his eyes. She had only seen those eyes once before, when he had left her on Libra before going out to do battle with her brother. She thought she would never see those eyes again. Their lips met, his kiss was soft and tender, burning with desire and regret.

He broke the kiss and looked into her eyes again. One last time. "Goodbye, Relena."

He jumped back onto his motorcycle, started up, and rode towards the gate, leaving Relena to just stand there and stare, enjoying the bliss of the moment, knowing full well that there would be an unbearable crash soon after.

It was only after he had picked up some speed and could feel the cold autumn air against his face did he realized that he too had shed a few tears during their moment of tenderness. He wasn't used to it. But it wasn't unpleasant. So rarely did he get to feel that release of emotions. It felt cleansing, it made him feel light. He supposed that he would have to resign from his position now. Perhaps, Une would reassign him somewhere far away. The Director was never keen on the idea of wasting his substantial talents on just watching Relena anyway.

As he approached the gate, he noticed a slight rumbling. It was the approach of footsteps, a lot of them. He looked to his left and was nearly blinded. The paparazzi was still out there waiting for a glimpse of Relena. He swerved and tried to bring his motorcycle to a stop. Too late, he had triggered the motion sensor. The gate opened.

"Shit!" Heero muttered.

Whatever his thoughts were about resigning, he still had a job to do tonight. He turned his bike around and rode back towards the parking lot.

Relena had just about finished with her moment, she could feel the pain and loneliness slowly starting to replace the residual sensation of the kiss. She turned around and began to head back into the house. She needed to find a bathroom to wash off the mascara that was no doubt running down her cheeks.

Then she heard the sound of a motorcycle approaching, which confused her. Was her mind playing tricks on her? It took a second for her eyes to focus after crying so intensely, but headlights of the motorcycle were blinding. This was real. She shielded her eyes as the vehicle approached. It came to a stop right next to her, kicking up some gravel against her shins.

He held out his hand.

She was confused.

"Get on," he said.

Didn't he just say he was leaving for good? Was this some kind of game? Did he even say I love you? Had she gone crazy? It didn't matter. If this was insanity then so be it. It's all she had ever wanted, ever since that day on the beach when he stole that ambulance, was for him to come back for her. She took his hand, hiked her skirt up a little and jumped onto the back of his motorcycle. She wrapped her arms around his waist, and pressed her head against his back, and closed her eyes.


	11. Who are we to each other?

**Author's Note:** This is effectively a bottle episode. I felt that these scenes deserved their own dedicated chapter without interruption.

 _Who are we to each other?_

The constant rumble of the vehicle came to a stop leaving Relena feeling rather lightheaded. A certain serenity came over her after dismounting the motorcycle and putting her feet onto solid ground. After an hour of clutching Heero's waist and bracing the harsh wind of the Northern European autumn, she was glad to be still. She had never ridden on a motorcycle before that moment and she had to admit, despite the cold and the whirlwind of emotion that preceded it, it was rather fun.

It was the dead of night when they arrived at the service station. Relena's phone had died and Heero needed to refuel his motorcycle. It was the perfect time for them to take a break. They had spent the better part of an hour, weaving through the side streets and back alleys of Vustgaarde until they came out into the countryside where they finally lost their pursuers.

Relena put her heels back on. She had been carrying them in her hands since before they left Winner House. Suddenly she felt very uncomfortable about what she was wearing. It all seem fine and good when they were at the party where everyone had been more or less dressed in a similar fashion. There, she had even discovered a new found confidence due in large part to all of the compliments she had received from her peers. But now, in the middle of nowhere, in a rural service stop, she suddenly felt like a prostitute. Beyond that, as the adrenaline of the chase receded from her veins, she began to feel rather cold.

"Go inside," Heero said. "Order some food."

"What about you?" Relena asked with a slight tremble in her voice.

"I'm not going to leave you out here in the middle of nowhere dressed like that," Heero replied.

"But if I were dressed a little more modestly, you'd ditch me in a second," Relena said playfully.

"Go," Heero said stoically.

She made her way towards the service station diner, trying to pull her skirt down as much as possible. Relena couldn't decide which was worse, being recognized as the Vice-Foreign Minister or just being mistaken for being any other girl out having too much fun on a friday night. She wished Heero would hurry up and just come join her in the diner lest she attract any unwanted attention.

There were only a few people inside which made sense considering how late it was and how out of the way they were from civilization. Relena was greeted by a kind waitress, who somehow immediately made her. She led Relena over to the corner booth and brought over a couple of menus. Relena tucked herself into faux red leather seats of the booth.

"Take your time," the waitress said. "It's on the house. And if any of these guys give you any trouble, just call me, okay?"

"Thank you so much," Relena said with a sigh of relief. "I didn't think anyone would recognize me."

"Oh honey, you're all over the news right now," the waitress said as she pulled out her phone to show Relena.

Vice-Foreign Minister rides off into the night with mystery man. Flick. Relena Peacecraft jumps onto a motorcycle with handsome stranger. Flick. Who is Relena's getaway driver?

Relena handed the phone back to the waitress. This was not how she wanted this night to turn out. How did it just spiral out of control so suddenly? And what would Heero think now that the media was interested in him. He had always been secretive. Stubbornly secretive. He freaked out the first moment they met, when he had realized that she had seen his face. That was a different time; another world. Still, would he be furious?

She forced herself to smile politely. "Thank you for telling me."

"Don't worry it about it, hun," the waitress winked at Relena. "Your secret is safe with me."

Just then Heero came into the diner and brushed past the waitress.

"He's cute," the waitress said as she flashed a nod of approval back at Relena, before walking away.

Heero sat down on the opposite side of the booth. Relena looked down at her menu, trying to conceal her smile and her sudden blush. She had to admit, even if it was only to herself, that she somewhat enjoyed the sudden turn of events. He thought he was so smooth, confessing his love, kissing her for the first time, then riding off into the night. And now, here they were, sitting in a diner in the middle of nowhere, in the dead of night, looking over a menu as if they on a date. Karma was on Relena's side tonight.

"So, what are you going to get?" Relena asked casually, not looking up from her menu.

"The breakfast platter," Hero answered plainly.

Relena kept staring at her menu hoping to hide her uncontrollable grin from him. On some level she had to know that at the end of the day, Heero was like anyone else. He had to eat. He must've have preferences. It was just the actual expression of the mundanities of everyday life such as the ordering of food that was irresistibly cute to her. He had always been a soldier in her eyes, an impossible warrior from the stars. Sometimes she forgot that he was actually human.

"Oh, they have a banana split!" Relena said with delight.

"Order some coffee," Heero said.

"Okay… " Relena replied awkwardly.

The waitress came back a few minutes later and both Heero and Relena placed their orders; breakfast platter, banana split, and two coffees, one black, the other with one sugar and one cream. The waitress took their menus, smiled again at Relena before taking off into the back. They sat silently for a few moments, neither of them making eye contact. Heero was feeling quite uncomfortable although in his usual stoic manner, he showed none of it. Relena rocked back and forth in her seat ever so slightly, contemplating the intimate situation they were in and thinking of ways to broach the obvious subject.

"So…" Relena began. "Are we going to talk about this?"

"What?" Heero asked, still trying to avoid eye contact.

"You kissed me, Heero," Relena said. "And you told me you loved me."

Heero merely just looked up at her, his eyes meeting hers. His expression revealed nothing, which was no doubt his intention.

"Don't you have anything to say?" Relena asked.

"I already said everything I had to say," Heero replied.

"Right, you're okay with just leaving it at that," Relena said with an incredulous shrug. "Your plan was just going to tell me that you loved me and leave me standing there. What the fuck, Heero?!"

"It doesn't change anything."

"What do you mean?! Am I supposed to just ignore what you said?" Relena asked.

"Honestly, yes," Heero said plainly. "I didn't tell you because I wanted anything from you. I just didn't want you to think that I didn't care."

"So you do care…" Relena said incredulously.

"Everything I've ever done, was for your sake."

"I don't understand you Heero."

"Just know that I don't want anything in return," Heero said. "I told you that I love you, that doesn't mean I'm asking for you to love me in return."

"Right, because you think I would be better off without you," Relena said, repeating his sentiments back to him with a hint of sarcasm.

"You don't want a war criminal to share you life with."

"That's not what you are…" Relena said, her voice softening.

"Relena…" Heero began. "I know you mean well. And I could spend the rest of the night telling you about your great qualities. One of them is that you see the best in people. You don't see people for who they are, you see them for what they can be. Their best selves. But you're wrong about me. Ever since that day on the beach. Your eyes said it all. You should've been afraid, you should've been terrified. But you weren't. And I don't… I don't want you to find out the hard way. I'd rather you remember me as you did after the war, not the man I am, not the man I'm becoming."

Relena reached across the table and took his hand into hers. He didn't resist but he didn't look at her either. He was too ashamed. His hands were surprisingly soft, although she could feel the scars upon his skin. She understood his reluctance to open up to her. In her experience, all of the Gundam pilots were rather guarded, Heero most of all. But she felt like she couldn't give up on him, not now, not after they have just come so close to confronting what had been left unsaid for so many years.

A few moments later, the waitress came back. The clammed up once again as the waitress placed the bacon, eggs, and toast in front of Heero, and slid the banana split towards Relena. Relena forced a smile and told the waitress thank you as she left them to their conversation once again.

"Heero, I wish you'd tell me what's going on with you," Relena said softly. "I understand that… peace has been an adjustment for you. I do—"

"Don't say things like that Relena," Heero said. "Because you don't. And really… you shouldn't have to. You have bigger concerns."

"Why do you think that?" Relena asked. "What makes you think that you're so much less than important than everyone else."

"It's the way it has always been," Heero said. "I shouldn't be telling you any of this…"

"Please do," Relena said.

"Relena," Heero said with a slight tremble in his voice. "We were trained to fight, we were trained to kill… But we were also trained to value of human life and to see the dignity in all people, so that we would never forget what we were fighting for. So that we would never be led astray by the romance of militarism, or the charisma of dictators and strongmen… And all this was drilled in our heads as children…"

"Heero…" Relena's voice broke.

He had never spoken so frankly about anything before, least of all himself and his past. On some level Relena had always known that Heero's past must've been tragic. You don't become a Gundam Pilot by living an ordinary life. But hearing those words broke her heart.

"You can't reconcile those two ideas in your head simultaneously, not as a child," Heero said. "But there was a way to get us to understand. We were the moral excrement in the system, we took on the filth and the sin of battle upon ourselves so that the rest of the colonists wouldn't have to. So that the colonies would need no army, no insurrection, and therefore no blame, to be free of the oppression of the Alliance. That was us…"

"Heero, that's horrifying," Relena whimpered.

Relena released his hand. He retracted it and tucked it away underneath the table. He looked away with a grimace. Relena hadn't seen that expression before from him. It was an expression of guilt or shame. She had no idea that had was struggling so deeply. It had been two years since Mariemaia's rebellion but it seemed like for Heero, it had never really ended.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have told you all of that," Heero said. "I don't want to upset you."

"No Heero, I'm so glad you told me," Relena replied. "I had no idea you felt this way."

"It's not a big deal. You find ways to deal with it."

"It is a big deal to me."

They ate their food in relative silence, though the initial joy of Relena's midnight dessert faded due to the direction the conversation took. She barely touched her banana split. Heero made an effort to ignore the atmosphere of sorrow the two of them had generated through their conversation, although he was clearly feeling it. He did what he always did in those situations. He thought about goals, immediate tasks, and how to achieve them; the things that gave him a sense of control.

He needed to get Relena to a safe place for the night. Vustgaarde was not a particularly large city and there were an inordinate amount of out of town media stalking the streets, combing every inch looking for them. There would be a lot of riding left tonight, he needed the energy, hence his rapid eating.

"Drink the coffee," Heero said as he took a sip of his. "I need you awake."

Relena picked up her coffee and took a sip, reluctantly. She didn't want him to retreat into himself like he always did but she found herself suddenly at a loss for words.

"So you never think about us?" Relena asked once again.

"Relena…" Heero said.

"No, I'm serious," Relena pushed. "You've just never thought about what it would be like? Not ever?"

"I would never dream of burdening you with the fucked up shit in my head," Heero answered.

"I hate that you think of yourself as a burden…" Relena said.

"Relena," Heero said softly. "I have so much to atone for. I am not your responsibility."

"Don't I get a say in the matter?" Relena asked.

"No… You have so much to offer to the world, you have so much to look forward to in life," Heero said. "You're going to find someone great, someone you'll want to share your life with, someone you'll be proud to call your husband..."

"And you?" Relena whispered, almost afraid of what his answer might be.

"I'll figure it," Heero said with a hint of a melancholy smile. Like the smile he gave her before he left to do battle with her brother three years ago.

They both fell into a silence for a few moments. Heero took a sip of his coffee and looked outside into the darkness. Relena just stared at him, trying desperately to digest Hero's casual nihilism. She had always known there was something that Heero had kept hidden from her all these years, even during the war but hearing him say it for the first time was more than she could handle.

Relena thanked the kind waitress again before she and Heero left. They got back onto the motorcycle together silently. Somehow the prospect of holding Heero closely took on a new weight. Gone were the feeling of butterflies. A general sorrow pervaded their ever unspoken interaction. Was this what Heero was talking about? Was this the burden of the knowledge of what he was, what Doctor J had raised him to be? Was this how Heero lived each and every day? Relena wondered.

The ride down the winding country roads was bumpy but not unbearable. At that point in the night, Relena just wanted for the whole thing for it to be over. She felt so unbearably sad. Heero could feel it too and it made him regret his moment of weakness. He shouldn't have told her those things. He shouldn't have told her he loved her. He should've kept it to himself. He could've told the people in group if he really needed to vent but not her. She didn't deserve it. She shouldn't have to be burdened with his sins.

After a while, despite the coffee, Heero could feel that Relena had fall asleep on his back. He was careful to make sure that she didn't fall off. It was all for the best he figured. It had been a long and exhausting night for the poor girl. Heero could feel her breathing and the warmth of her body on his back and he secretly relished the physical intimacy. An hour and a half later, the motorcycle had come to a stop and the sudden death of the engine woke her.

Heero helped her off of the bike while she was coming to her senses.

"Where are we?" Relena asked as she looked around for a moment.

"Peacecraft Palace," Heero answered.

"Why did you take me here?" Relena asked as the blurriness from her vision faded.

She looked around once again, this time recognizing her surroundings. She hadn't been home in months. Quatre's crew had done quite a bit of work and the exterior nearly complete.

"Vustgaarde is still crawling with paparazzi looking for you," Heero said. "I couldn't get you back into your townhouse."

"If you don't want anything from me, why do you care so much?" Relena asked, trying one last time.

"Isn't it obvious?" Heero asked.

"Are you my bodyguard?" Relena asked.

Heero merely nodded.

Relena closed her eyes and forced back her tears. She suddenly felt angry. Angry at Noin for explicitly disobeying her orders. Angry at Heero for not telling her earlier. Angry at how the night had turned out. She felt cheated, cheated out of an ending to their story.

"So is that it?" Relena asked, trying to suppress her frustration. "Is that all we are?"

"I'm sorry to have disappointed you," Heero said. "You know that was never my intent."

They stood staring at each other silently for a few moments more, neither one of them wanting to let the other go quite yet. Heero just wanted to hold onto the moment of human intimacy that he felt had had stolen from her just a while longer. For Relena, she just didn't want things to end like this. Was this them? Bodyguard and charge? Knight and princess?

Doesn't the knight get the princess in the end?

"Wait," Relena said as just as Heero turned out to walk away.

What was she thinking? She was the most powerful woman in the world. So why was she acting so weak?

Why the fuck would I just let this slip away?

Had the war taught her nothing?

She walked towards him with a renewed determination. Relena locked eyes with him.. As the gravity of her eyes drew him inexplicably near, he only turn to face her again. She placed her hand on his cheek, committing to memory the warmth of his skin and the weight of his burden. She didn't want him to carry it alone anymore. It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair that had he saved the world for her time and again only for him to be left with nothing return. It may have been all that he expected but that's not what he was going to get.

"Stay," Relena whispered.

"I can't…" Heero said. "It wouldn't be appropriate—"

"I don't care."

"Relena… I could never be the man that you deser—"

"I don't care."

"I don't know what you want from me…"

"You think I'm just going to let you leave after everything you told me tonight?" Relena asked. "You think I'm that weak? I was there for your war, Heero Yuy. I watched the whole thing. I saw you save millions. I saw you sacrifice everything. You don't have to anymore. I won't let you."

"Relena, I can't stay…" Heero said, pleading with her desperately.

"You're my bodyguard aren't you?" Relena asked.

Heero knew where this was going.

"I order you to stay…"

Relena took him by the hand and led him up the great staircase that led to the entrance of the house. She opened the door and pulled him inside before closing it.


	12. Unspoken

_Unspoken_

The harsh moonlight of the autumn night disappeared as Relena closed the door behind them. It was suddenly very dark. Relena's phone was dead and Heero hadn't responded to any messages for hours. No one knew where they were or how to find them. They were truly alone.

They stood next to each other, so close that they could feel each other's body heat and hear the other's breathing.

"Do you trust me?" Relena asked.

"What?"

"You know that you admire me," Relena said. "You've told me that many times before. I even know that that you love me now. But do you trust me?"

Heero didn't know how to answer. He had known her for so long but the question of trust had never occurred to him. He was always so self-reliant, so self-assured. He had once asked Relena to trust him when he went out to fight Milliardo for the final time but she had never asked the same of him. Until now.

"I want you to be able to," Relena said. "I want you to know that I'm always here for you."

Their footsteps echoed through the high ceilings and barreling corridors that branched out from the Great Hall, Relena's in particular. Two loud clunks could be heard as she kicked off her heels sending them colliding against the marble tiles that paved their path towards the Grand Staircase. Heero followed Relena from several paces behind, feeling rather uncomfortable about the awe and majesty of the interior of the palace. It dwarfed the Winner House in size and architectural detail but carried with in a haunting sense of history and the sorrow of a nation that had been burned to ashes.

And there in front of him was the sole survivor of that tragic dynasty, who by sheer force of will and her unwavering conviction,survived the war unmarred. How could he ever live up to her? And why was it, no matter what road he traveled, it always seemed to lead him back to her?

The hints of light that pierced through the Palace's skylights accented her beauty. And by God she was beautiful. It almost didn't seem to matter that she was dressed like a commoner, just an ordinary girl out on the town, she commanded the space. This glorious palace of marble and gold was her birthright and it seemed, no matter how she presented herself, it recognized her and bowed to her majesty.

She made her way up the Grand Staircase gracefully. Heero deliberately slowed his pace even further as to not accidentally peek up her rather short skirt. Although he couldn't help but admire her bare legs. He was ashamed to even think about her in that way. He used to be so disciplined about such things during the war. His focus wasn't what it used to be.

The first room on the second floor was her bedroom. She chose it because it was the closest to the stairs while the Royal Apartments were still being constructed. Still, it was a large room, larger than all of her townhouse bedrooms combined. Inside the room was a vanity, a desk, a small sofa, and a king sized canopy bed.

Heero stopped just short of entering.

"I know, it's obnoxiously large," Relena said with a hint of embarrassment.

She noticed that he was just standing there, stoic as always. There was a time in her life when she would wonder what he was thinking and possibly plead with him. But somehow that feeling of desperation and uncertainty felt so distant now. Now, all she wanted to do was comfort him.

"Come on," Relena said as she took his hand and dragged him into her room. "I'm not letting you sleep alone tonight."

She led him over to the bed and made him sit down. Then Relena got up and walked into the on suite bathroom. Her hands crashed against the sink, her heart was pounding. She looked at herself in the mirror to steel her nerves. Who was this girl staring back at her? All glamorous and tragic. She could still see the traces of the mascara that she had tried to wipe away after crying earlier in the night. Everything had happened so fast. And being with Heero tonight made her feel as though she was 15 again. All of the memories of Libra came rushing back. All those feelings, long dulled by the passage of time, returned with renewed intensity. She had forgotten how desperate those moments were, how uncertain she was that Heero would make it out of that battle alive.

Relena washed the makeup from her face and stripped out of her partywear. She looked at naked body in the mirror. Normally, she wouldn't give it a second thought. She found that among girls her own age, she had remarkably few body image issues. Perhaps it was because she employed a personal trainer and was fairly strict about her dietary habits or perhaps it was because compared to the brutality and horrors of the Eve Wars, all else seemed so very trivial. In any case, she hadn't ever felt self-conscious about her body in any serious way. Until now.

Their relationship, even in the early days, had never been physical. They were young and their circumstances were quite different. Relena was a child, a fool she would readily admit, with juvenile dreams. Heero was a soldier, too focused, perhaps conditioned even, to see her as anything other than an obstacle. Towards the end of the war, as tragedies mounted and death seemed inevitable, their bond, however ill defined, was one of subdued emotional support and an unshakable faith in the other's strength. There was never lust, never time for it.

But seeing him for the first time after a two year absence and thereafter on a regular basis, she did inevitably begin to entertain those animal thoughts. And after the events of the night, she couldn't deny the powerful desire she had for him. But of course, all of this unnerved her about her own body. His had been sculpted by the forces of brutal human circumstance. His beauty was a byproduct of war. Hers on the other hand was a product of vanity and bourgeois privilege. Would he be able to see right through her?

Relena came back into the bedroom dressed in a pink nightie, holding a glass of water. She took a few gulps before handing it to Heero. She was nervous but she tried her best to hide it from him. He was a little shaken by the sudden turn of events and she sensed that she would need to be the strong one tonight. That was fine with her, it felt long overdue.

"Here, drink," Relena said.

He had trouble looking at her. She was beautiful, this he had always known. There was a brief moment when she debuted as the Queen of the World when he was struck still by the sheer perfection of her. That moment Heero would remember for the rest of his life. But this was different. A thin layer of silk separated his scarred hands from her bodily divinity. He knew he wasn't worthy and thus he felt guilty. But she kept looking at him, undaunted. Him and only him. As if there was nothing else in the world. He felt vulnerable in a way he had never felt before.

Taking the lead, Relena guided him to lie down on the bed. She laid down beside him. She never took her eyes off of him. Not for a second. Relena brushed the hair out of his eyes, and traced her finger behind his ear. They had never been this alone before. And for all of the night's heightened emotions and intractable tension, something about this felt safe, something about this felt right.

"Heero, you made a promise to me three years ago," Relena whispered. "Do you remember?"

Heero suddenly looked up at her, her eyes were full of hope and desire.

"You promised that you would come back, that you wouldn't give up after defeating Milliardo, that you weren't planning to die out there in space," Relena continued. "Do you remember?"

"Yes," Heero answered.

"Promise me again."

"Relena…"

"You were magnificent," Relena said. "I don't think I ever told you but you were. You still are. You are the bravest man I've ever known."

"I was train—"

"Stop deflecting," Relena interrupted. "Stop letting yourself think that you are nothing. You're not. A part of me is angry, angry with Doctor J, angry at the world, for allowing you to believe that for so long."

"Relena…" She could hear his voice softening. "The world isn't perfect. As much as you try to make it so."

"That doesn't mean that you deserve nothing," Relena said as she inched herself closer. "Isn't there anything you want in life?"

He didn't answer. But his eyes spoke more than his words ever could. Even in the darkness of night, she could see the desperation and desire in them. He was paralyzed by his mind and his training. He kept his heart locked away, guarded from the world, even when it so desperately wanted to be free. He was still fighting the war even though there were no more enemies left to defeat. He just couldn't put it away as much as he tried to.

Relena placed her hand on his cheek and stroked him gently. Her fingers tracing the ridge of his brow, she could feel it, slowly but surely, he melted at her touch. She moved in a bit closer, she could feel his breath upon her chest. This intimacy, this closeness, this was new to the both of them. But somehow this all felt inevitable.

"I understand," Relena whispered reassuringly. "Rest now my brave brave soldier. Know that the world and I am safe because of you."

* * *

It wasn't what he expected when the guard dragged him out of his cell. He figured it was because he was the youngest and thus the most vulnerable. He thought he was going to be tortured for information, perhaps used as a punching bag for the Preventers and some of the crew to vent some frustration. He didn't expect a shower, a fresh change of clothes, and a warm meal.

His hands were still shaking a little as he shoveled food into his mouth. He tried not to eat too fast. He didn't want to seem like an uncultured savage in front to the government agent watching him from across the table but he was starving. The food aboard the ship was much better than his usual portion.

Sally watched patiently as the child, who couldn't have been older than 15 years old, stuff his mouth full of potatoes, broccoli, and bits of pre-cut sausage. His pale gaunt face and the shaking of his hands suggested that he hadn't had a decent meal in months. The dull look in his eyes showed signs of chronic sleep deprivation. She had seen this before. The use of child soldiers was not uncommon during the wars of the previous generation. Although, this one seemed to lack the fortitude and formal discipline those aforementioned soldiers.

"They don't feed you?" Sally asked innocently.

The boy's eyes darted up from his food, and for a brief moment, regained their martial fury before they faded into depths of hunger once again.

Sally understood that look, all of the Gundam pilots had it too when she first met them. And while they were a cut above in terms of training, capabilities, and combat prowess, that desperate defensiveness, the instinctive mistrust of anyone and everyone, especially those in uniform, was unmistakable and universal. She poured the boy a glass of water and gently slid it over to his side of the table. After a few moments, he took a sip to wash down his food.

"That's okay," Sally said reassuringly. "Eat as much as you want."

"I'm not going to tell you anything," the boy finally said. "I'm not going to betray them. You think I'm weak. I'm not."

"I don't think you're weak," Sally said as she leaned forward slightly, placing her elbows on the table. "You wouldn't have survived this long if you were."

"What do you want from me then?" He asked as he began to eat again.

"Just a story," Sally replied simply.

"A story?"

"Your story."

"I'll pass."

"You know, I could've killed you," Sally said sternly but without any hint of malice in her voice. "I had the drop on you. You know that, you saw my gun. But I didn't… Why do you think that is?"

The boy just looked down at his food. He had been treated much better than he had expected from what he had been told by his crewmates. But of course, he recognized the very real possibility that this was all an elaborate act just to get him to give up vital information.

Captain Wayland and Wufei watched the interrogation from the sea cabin via cameras. The both of them were rather anxious. The ship had been patrolling off the coast of Indonesia for the past six hours and had even requested further assistance from two destroyers from Makassar, but without an actual rendezvous location, the search for the Barton Foundation's frigate crew's contact was rather hopeless.

"You think she can break him?" Captain Wayland asked.

"Sure," Wufei replied. "The question is if she can do it in time."

"Truth be told, if they were going to rendezvous, it would've already happened by now," Captain Wayland said as he leaned back into his chair and took a sip of his coffee. "We're eight at least eight hours behind…"

"You're probably be right," Wufei replied. "But I'd still like to get as much information out of this kid as I can."

"She's got a way about her, doesn't she?" Captain Wayland said. "Didn't take her to be an interrogator. When we picked her up last night, it look like she wrecked that entire frigate by herself."

"She has… many talents," Wufei replied.

* * *

Heero woke up an hour before dawn. He lay awake staring at the moon outside the tall windows of Relena's bedroom. A full night's sleep had eluded him once again. Tonight was different however. It wasn't the nightmares that kept him awake tonight. It was the events of the night, the flurry of revelations and confessions, the sudden and unexpected change in the nature of their relationship. He wanted to believe it was just the alcohol, that both of them were just acting impulsively because of it but somehow he knew it wasn't that simple. Things between them had never been that simple.

He looked over at Relena, who was fast asleep beside him; the picture of angelic perfection. It baffled him how he managed to end up in her bed, sleeping next to her. Against every bodily urge, he had managed to stop himself from taking her that night. It would have been the perfect time, the perfect moment, given everything that they had both said and done. Something told him that if he tried, she wouldn't have stopped him. And he didn't want her to make that mistake.

Heero couldn't escape it, as much as he tried, the feeling of inadequacy. No matter how much she told him otherwise, no matter how she reassured him, he knew, deep in his bones, that he wasn't good enough for her.

He sat up and stretched his back. Her bed was far softer than what he was used to. He looked over at her. The rhythmic and gentle rise and fall of her chest told him that she was still asleep. Good, he didn't want to wake her.

"You."

He remembered her question from hours ago. It had been seared into his brain. And it was only now, when he knew there was no chance of her hearing him, that he could answer.

"You are the only thing I want in this life." He said softly. "But you already know that. I think you do at least. Is that why you keep hounding me? Asking me about us? What would I know about us? Why ask me like I would have any answers whatsoever? I am a soldier Relena. I always have been. My oldest memories are of fighting in the streets and taking apart and reassembling guns. How could I be worthy of you? How could I love you properly?"

He looked over at her. Still asleep, still peaceful, still innocent of the burden of the questions he had just asked. Good. He wasn't expecting an answer. He felt a deep sense of shame, that he could only express his innermost thoughts when no one, least of all Relena, was listening.

"I don't know why you won't just let go. Aren't I hurting you? I feel like that's the only thing I'm capable of when I'm this close to you. You ask about us, but what us can there be? You have the grace of a princess, the charm of a politician, the heart of one who can maintain this peace. I am a remnant from another age, to be pitied and cared for in this new enlightened one. How can I be anything to you? Let alone a boyfriend or a husband… The moment you take me anywhere public, you will see me as they see me, a murderer and a cretin. I can only embarrass you publicly and hurt you privately. So yes… you are what I want. You are the only one I have ever wanted."

He looked over at her once again. Still asleep.

"I just know that I can't have you."

* * *

Sally slid the door closed behind her as she made her way into the sea cabin. Wufei and Captain Wayland had heard everything that Sally managed to get out of the boy. The news was disheartening but it was useful intel nonetheless. While he didn't know the name of the ship they were supposed to rendezvous with nor did he know the name of the contact, apparently the senior members had kept him out of the loop for most of the operation, he did know the time and the location of their rendezvous, as well as the name of the front organization they were dealing with. Unfortunately they were way off in the search area and the contact will have fled by now.

"So what now?" Sally asked, sounding genuinely unsure. "Do you think we can catch them?"

"There's no ship in the world that can make up that much lost time," Captain Wayland replied.

"If only we had an Aries," Wufei said.

"Don't think like that," Sally replied. "We aren't at war."

"Not yet anyway," Wufei commented.

"Wufei…"

The three of them fell into a silence. They were playing a game of chess with an opponent they did not know, not understanding which pieces were still in play. Wufei looked out the window at the sea. Endless water from horizon to horizon, he felt the rhythmic ebb and flow of the water that kept them afloat. He considered their past work, their months of raids and intel gathering. He wondered if they had been intentionally lead astray.

"What was the name of the front again?" Wufei asked.

"Lucio Internationale," Captain Wayland answered. "They are a multinational shipping conglomerate based out of Buenos Aires."

"Right, then we start there," Sally said.

"They're a multi-billion operation with connections across all of the Americas, South East Asia, and several colonies," Captain Wayland said. "They have contracts with several territorial governments. You're going to find it rather difficult to get Brussels to even entertain the idea let alone issue subpoenas."

"He's right," Wufei said. "And it seems rather unlikely that it is the whole organization. They have a vested interest in maintaining peace. It's the lifeblood of their business."

"You're suggesting the Barton Foundation has someone on the inside…" Sally said gravely.

"Perhaps the Barton Foundation itself has spread its tendrils further than we thought," Wufei said as he leaned against the desk. His eyes dropped to the floor in deep thought. "We've been chasing them around these islands for months now. Capturing men and machinery here and there but nothing major. We assumed they were directionless, disorganized… but what if that was the plan?"

"That makes sense, I mean what do we have to show for our operations, a few dozen mercenaries and a handful of ill-maintained Serpents."

"We've been thinking about them in terms of an armed force," Wufei continued. "But that's not what they are anymore. They are a guerrilla organization now."

"But we don't have access to Lucio's personnel files," Sally said. "And even if the Preventers request them, I'm sure they'll notify their command structure immediately and change up."

"We're too loud," Wufei said, still deep in thought. "They can see every move we make but we can't see them at all."

* * *

It was the itch in her throat that woke her up, that feeling of dried tonsil rubbing up against itself with the texture of a fine grain sandpaper. It was the surest sign that she had just experienced a night of heavy drinking. She reached out for her the glass of water she had left on her bedside table the night before. Experience had taught her to prepare for the coming morning and she was nothing if not prepared.

The water rejuvenated her immediately. She knew as soon as she got out of bed, she would feel the unevenness of the weight of her body, that peculiar sense of balance, and the inevitable headache that came with hangovers, but for now she felt renewed.

Leaning her head back against the headboard of her bed, she felt a slight stirring. Peeking down she saw Heero turn slightly as she shifted her position. She had nearly forgotten that he was there. Then, the memories of the night before came rushing back into her mind. _Oh god, did all of that, any of that really happen?_ Did he really tell her that he loved her? Did he really open up to her like that? Was that all just a dream she conjured up in her drunken state? No, that couldn't be. He was where she had left him, sleeping serenely beside her. In fact, he was _exactly_ where she had left him. He hadn't inched closer to her at all. He was Heero after all, despite his uncharacteristic openness from the night before.

But one thing had changed from the night before. He had taken off his shirt. Perhaps sleeping in a dress shirt was too uncomfortable even for the likes of Heero Yuy. She understood, she had to wear them as a part of her attire for work and they had always felt constraining, even the most expensive and well made ones. And just then, staring at his naked torso, those thoughts, so fleeting from the night before came back to her with a furry. But somehow this was different. Perhaps it was because felt rested and renewed from the tortures of the night before. Perhaps the morning inherently conjured up a different mood. Perhaps the fact that he was still here and didn't take off in the middle of the night made her feel that much more secure. Whatever it was, she was unprepared.

It wasn't that Relena was completely naϊve to the desires of the flesh. She had both experienced that desire and been the object of that desire many times before. In addition to the usual articles, usually of a political nature, that featured her, occasionally she would appear in tabloids for more frivolous reasons. _Top 10 hottest women in politics. Princess Relena bares her midriff._ Things of that nature, no doubt, there would be a fresh round of such articles following the events of the previous night. But all of that felt so distant, so intellectual rather than experiential. She understood that she was an attractive woman and she knew what she liked in a man, she read magazines and watched movies after all. But this was different. This was visceral, primal, bringing forth urges that she didn't fully understand and couldn't quite control.

It was the contours of his abs, the way that undulated with his gentle breath. The oblique muscles that drew a perfect V, converging somewhere south of his pant line, pointing at something so obvious, Relena blushed at the mere thought. For all of her political talents and her natural grace and charm, she was still just a girl, unpracticed in the matters of the flesh. Seeing him bare, in all his exquisite beauty, with both the natural smoothness of his muscles and the scars of a horrific past, made her unnerved yet aroused.

She felt her hand draw towards him, instinctively wanting to touch him. She snapped it back. Not wanting to wake him and definitely not wanting to be caught in such a compromising act. _What was is wrong with me?!_ She was in uncharted territory, swimming in unfamiliar waters.

Relena jumped out of bed and rushed into the bathroom. She closed to door quietly as to not wake him, although she felt like slamming it shut. She turned on the shower and cranked it so that it searing hot before stripping out of her nightie and jumping in. She did this rarely, her life was far too busy for this kind of self care. It had been months since her last private session. But this moment demanded it, she couldn't help herself. She needed the release.

* * *

" _Is this her coming of age? Perhaps it is too early to say but one thing is for certain, this is a side of Relena Darlian that we haven't seen before. Back to you Kendra."_

" _Thanks Benny," the woman said as she raised her eyebrows subtly and tapped her stylus on the tablet sitting in front of her. "Well, I have to say, I think she looked gorgeous. I think we tend to forget because of her outsized role in the war, that she is still a teenage girl. She deserves to have some fun."_

" _Yes but this is highly unorthodox," the man sitting across countered. "She is a public servant and a public servant has certain standards to uphold. She made a public statement about the housing issue just a few hours before this. An issue, well outside her jurisdiction I might remind everyone. Are we meant to take her seriously? One minute she's the forceful voice of peace and justice in Brussels, the next moment she's a out of control party girl?"_

" _I hardly think she's a out of control party girl," Kendra said._

" _And who was that man she jumped onto the motorcycle with," the man continued. "Is he just some random guy at that college party? Are we really supposed to trust her judgement with issues of trade and diplomacy when we see her act like this?"_

"Idiots."

Without averting her eyes from the television, Mariemaia brought another spoonful of cereal up to her mouth. She sat cross legged in the very center of the sectional couch watching as the two talking heads went back and forth. She found them absolutely insufferable but yet she couldn't stop watching. This was her ritual on Saturday mornings. Most children her age would be on another channel watching cartoons or playing outside, still others might still be asleep. But Mariemaia was peculiar. There was a time in her life when she thought she would be the leader of Earth. Even at that young age, without fully understanding the gravity of the responsibility, she took it as seriously as she could. Part of that attitude manifested itself in the relentless consumption of news and politics, even that of the lowest quality like Saturday morning punditry.

For her part, Katerina thought it rather unhelpful. There was still a stench of Dekim in this habit, a residual programming that hadn't yet faded from Mariemaia's personality. But given everything else that was going on in their life, Katerina considered Mariemaia's rabid consumption of news to be the least of her worries. It was good for the young girl to have routines and things she genuinely enjoyed even if it was something rather odd for her age.

Katerina sat at the kitchen bar in a crimson bathrobe, eating her own bowl of cereal while she caught up on some work emails. She did her best to cook on weekday nights to create some semblance of a home life for Mariemaia and wasn't half bad at it, but that aspect of motherhood was not her passion. Cereal in the morning would be just fine. It was rather luxurious compared to what she was used to. Before she was promoted to colonel, Katerina lived off of military rations in instant oatmeal for years, hence that had become her standard for nourishment.

 _Request for encrypted communication._

The notification came up on both her phone and her laptop. It must've been Sally reporting back. Deciding that she would rather not take the call in earshot of Mariemaia, she picked up her devices and stood up to move to her office around the corner from the living room.

"Don't spill anything," Katerina said dryly as she moved passed Mariemaia.

"I won't," Mariemaia replied in a similarly monotonous tone.

Her office at home was similar to the one she had at the Valknut. It was a glass protruded slightly from main house and was aso primarily a construction of glass although outside was a view of a military cemetery but her own backyard. She sat down at her desk, touched her table to darken the windows as to not be disturbed during her private call.

She answered.

"This is Water, reporting in."

"This is Gold, go ahead."

"Well, do you want the good news or the bad news?" Sally asked.

"Did you get the name of the contact?" Katerina asked.

"That's the bad news," Sally said.

"Damn it…"

"The good news is that we think they are somehow connected to a multinational corporation based out of South America with deep political and financial ties to the World Government," Sally answered blithely.

There was a moment's pause.

"How in the world is that good news?" Katerina asked.

"It's not… _good_ news perse," Sally said awkwardly. "But it is a start."

"If you think I'm going to Security Council with this—"

"Okay, calm down," Sally interrupted. "I know that's an unreasonable ask."

"Then what are you asking exactly?"

"Permission to investigate this further," Sally said.

Katerina sighed. "We don't have the resources in the region. I'm not sure if we even have a single high level contact…"

"What?" Sally could tell by the way her words trailed of that Katerina just had an idea.

* * *

He was gone.

Her bed was empty. He must've stepped out when she was in the shower. Just like that, she felt a sudden wait in her stomach. And to think she had just… finished to the thought of him. This was typical of Heero but after what had happened the night before, even for him, this was outrageous. Her sadness would've turned to red hot anger had she not, right then and there, noticed that his shirt was still on the floor on his side of the bed.

He was still here. It made no sense for him to take off without his shirt. Perhaps, he just got up to use another bathroom. That made the most sense. Her anger and her sadness melted away in an instant but a new frustration overtook her. How was she going to find him? There were more bathrooms than she could count in the palace.

For whatever reason, perhaps the smell, perhaps she needed the insurance that he wouldn't run away after that near miss, she picked up his shirt and threw it on before she ran off to go look for him. She searched the entire second floor, some twenty or so rooms and all of their attached bathrooms. He wasn't in any of them and half of them were still under construction. She considered going up to the third floor and checking those but that made little sense. The fewer of the upstairs rooms were completed and why would he be up there anyway? She rushed down the Grand Staircase and passed her shoes that she had left in the Great Hall the night before. She checked the drawing rooms, living rooms, and sitting rooms, dining halls, and libraries until she reached the family kitchen.

He was there. And a good thing too because she was getting rather winded running through the house checking every single room. But there he was, standing over the stove. She could hear the crackling of something being fried. Perhaps it was because of her shower activities or perhaps it was just the sight of his bare back but she felt another sudden flood of arousal surge through her body. _What is happening to me?_

A vision of what could be; him standing there looking majestic, cooking breakfast, her watching him with complete admiration. If only they both had the courage of their convictions. If they could just let go of the war and save each other from their mutual loneliness and muted despair. If only they would let themselves be happy. Perhaps, they could have this forever.

He turned to face her.

"Good morning," he said in his usual way.

Relena leaned her head against the wall and relaxed into a smile. "Hi."


	13. Fallout

**Author's Note:** Periodically I feel the need to thank everyone for their follows, favourites, and reviews. You guys always have the most thoughtful comments, ideas, and reactions. So thank you so much for following and reading this story.

 _Fallout_

The recently completed family kitchen was a large open space, equipped with the latest state of the art stainless steel appliances and a complete array of cooking implements. A breakfast bar, separated the dining area from the kitchen proper. Oakwood accents on both sides of the bar unified in the two sections of the kitchen, giving the entire room a sense of modernity not found in the other rooms of the Royal Palace.

This kitchen was separate from the staff kitchen, still under construction in another part of the Palace. This kitchen wasn't meant to act as an operating base for the future full time kitchen staff of the Palace household. This space was reserved for an imagined Royal family to cook for themselves and dine in a more informal manner. It didn't matter that Relena was the only effective residence of the Palace. She wanted to create a spirit of family and intimacy within the Palace to counteract the natural pomp and majesty the rest of building inspired.

It seemed to be working. There was something irresistibly comfortable and intimate about the moment they found themselves in. The light from the overcast sky outside poured through the tall glass doors that led out to an enclosed courtyard, presumably for occasions for outdoor dining should the opportunity arise. Soft shadows caressed Heero's torso, accenting his natural form, reminding Relena of his strength and his surprising gentleness. To her, this all felt like a distant yet familiar dream. In some hidden way, this was all she ever wanted.

She stood at the entrance of the space, just looking at him with adoration. He felt embarrassed but he had always been embarrassed by her attention. He understood on an intellectual level that whatever perceived shortcomings and flaws he found in himself were completely unnoticed by Relena. She had this unique ability to see past what everyone else saw in him, the humorless, stone-faced killer. Still, that fear that one day, she would come to know him and see him as others did, forced him to preempt some distance between them, lest he be shattered when that day came.

But it seemed as though it was not this day and after the torrid confessions and grueling arguments from the night before, Heero felt no need to rehash what had already been said. She looked so beautiful in wearing his shirt, her hair still damp from her shower, with her bare legs exposed. She was everything good in this world and yet all he ever did was make her cry.

"Sit," Heero said as he gestured towards the breakfast bar.

Relena did her very best to contain her giddiness as she hopped onto one of the stools and waited with eager anticipation to be served. Heero placed a plate with poached eggs and bacon on an English muffin in front of her. He then turned around to fetch the Hollandaise sauce and drizzled it all over her eggs. _Eggs Benedict!_ It was one of her favorites, she wondered if he knew that.

She took a bite. It was perfect.

 _Of course he's good at this too._ She mentally rolled her eyes. That was Heero's way. Everything he did, he did with supreme expertise, and those things that he was deficient in, say expressing his inner feelings, he took great pains to avoid. So it should've come as no great surprise that Heero was at the very least an accomplished cook, given his willingness to do such a thing for her.

"I programmed your security system this morning," Heero said as he leaned against the breakfast bar. "The password is peacemillion01, you can change it later if you want. Also, Quatre installed a pretty advanced biometric verification system in addition to the standard password lock. We should get your info into the system."

"I'm sorry, I'm too busy enjoying these eggs," Relena said with her eyes shut, savoring her food. "Do you want some? You should really try this. It's delicious."

"I know, I made it," Heero said with almost a hint of a chuckle.

Relena sighed and slouched slightly as she stared at him, just standing there on the other side of the bar, waiting for her to finish breakfast. "Why are you being so sweet to me?"

"What do you mean?"

"I thought you left," Relena said. "When I came out of the shower, you weren't in my bed and I thought you had just run off again."

"I do tend to do that to you," Heero said.

"I'm glad to hear you admit it," Relena said as she took another bite of her food.

Heero made his way over to the refrigerator took out a bottle of orange juice, grabbed two glasses from the cupboard and came back to the breakfast bar. Sliding one of the glasses over to Relena, he poured her drink first before filling up his. They clinked glasses before they both took a sip.

"I'm glad you're still here," Relena said as she rested her cheek on her hand, still unable to take her eyes off of him.

"Me too," Heero admitted.

"Well I'll admit, that's surprising."

"Look Relena," Heero said as his voice deepened. "I'm still not convinced I can be the man you need me to be. Beyond the war and the things I've done. We're separated by worlds. This… all of this, this is your world. Beneath the Preventers badge, beneath the Gundam pilot, beneath the soldier, I'm just a kid from the street. I'm a stranger here. But..."

"But…" Relena echoed his words with some trepidation in her voice.

"I don't want to hurt you anymore. I think… I think I had you convinced that I didn't notice or that I didn't care that I make you cry everytime I leave," Heero said. "I just don't want to do that to you anymore."

She was fast, much faster than he had expected. Relena had hopped onto the breakfast bar in one swift movement, almost knocking over her plate and her drink, and planted her lips on his. She was soft, as he had always imagined her to be. She was gentle with him, as she had always knew that she would need to be. Heero's whole life had been a series of tragedies, one after another. She just wanted him to know, to feel, that it was okay to relax, to know there was more to this life than a constant struggle.

Happiness was possible.

"Relena…" Heero whispered as they finally broke their kiss.

"Heero, you have no idea how long I've waited to hear those words," she began to tear up.

Relena repositioned herself so that she was sitting on the breakfast bar with her legs gently wrapped around him. He made no attempt to disengage. His hands merely merely loosened and fell onto her thighs. She held him close, her hands on his cheeks. For a moment the world stood still. Somewhere in that infinitesimal span of time, as their bodies were locked together in serene harmony, both of them realized that it had all led to this moment. The faint promise of this in the back of Heero's mind is what kept him alive as fell to Earth in his race against Libra. Neither of them spoke, there would be time enough for that later. But for now, finally had a moment to breathe.

"Listen, Heero," Relena said as her gaze fell down onto his chest. "I'm not asking for forever, I'm not even asking for a commitment. I understand life hasn't been fair to you—"

"We both suffered during the war," Heero interrupted. "I just don't want to be a constant reminder of that time for you."

"Heero, the thought of you is what kept me going," Relena said with a slight tremble in her voice. "Your strength gave me strength."

"I'm scared…"

Her eyes darted up, she looked at him with utter bewilderment. She had never heard him utter those words before. He had faced down impossible odds in the most hopeless battles without ever showing an ounce of fear. Indeed, she thought fear was a quality that his training had utterly erased from his character.

"Of what?" Relena finally managed to ask.

"Of how much I want you, of how much I want this. Being around you like this… I'm losing control, Relena. You make me dream, you give me hope…" Heero said.

Relena expression of astonishment melted into one of warmth and gentleness. "Heero, those are not bad things."

"I know," Heero said with a hint of embarrassment in his voice. "I'm just not sure to process it all yet…"

She felt the instinctive need to caress him. For all of his discipline and restraint, there was something wild about him. As if he was always on high alert, always stressed, and always ready to react. She didn't know for sure that anything she did truly relaxed him and allowed him to out his guard too. Perhaps, she couldn't undo years upon years of conditioning, but she could make him, at least temporarily, more comfortable.

"I promise, nothing bad is going to happen," Relena said. "We'll take it slow. One day at a time. We're going to figure this out together. Just promise me you'll stay. No more running."

There was a moment's pause. Heero thought about the question Relena asked her last night. _Did he trust her?_ "I promise."

They leaned against each other. Their bodies mere inches away from the other. They had become comfortable with one another, slowly but surely, all of their fears and their apprehensions from the war were beginning to melt, revealing the hidden tenderness between that was always there.

Their phones rang.

Interrupting their moment of intimacy and tenderness, both of them let out a conciliatory sigh, broke their embrace and went to answer the call. In the end, they were both creatures of duty. Relena took her call on a wall mounted handset linked to her mobile, which was still sitting upstairs charging. Heero took his call on his mobile, which he was more astute about keeping on him at all times. They did their best to switch into professional mode but given the mood of the last 12 hours, they had to take a few moments to mentally switch over. Their both their calls ended roughly around the same time.

Relena looked at Heero from across the room, wearing an expression of muted disappointment. "That was my boss, I need to go to Brussels."

"Is this about yesterday?" Heero asked.

"It's probably about a lot… Since you know… A lot has happened since yesterday."

"I have to go to Brussels too," Heero said. "Director Une called me in."

"Is this about me, about us?" Relena asked. "Oh God, did I just get you fired?"

"I don't know, I guess I'll see when I get there."

* * *

Wufei and Sally watched from a monitor on the bridge of the UESS Advent as the prisoners were escorted off the ship by Preventer agents. The ship had docked in the Port of Tanjung Priok just a couple of hours ago. After a long and mostly fruitless journey at sea, it was time for them to return to base and regroup.

"What did you promise the kid?" Wufei asked.

"Six months and probation," Sally answered. "And if he returned to school and kept his grades up a letter of recommendation for college."

"That's pretty generous."

"It's not his fault," Sally said. "He just got caught up with the wrong people."

Captain Wayland entered the bridge from the sea cabin. He greeted Wufei and Sally with a smile.

"Well that's it," he said.

"Thank you for your help," Wufei said as he walked over to shake the man's hand.

"Don't mention it," Captain Wayland said. "I know the crew has been less than inviting while you were aboard. Just know, we do appreciate the work that you people are doing. And we're happy to help."

Soonafter saying their goodbyes, Wufei and Sally disembarked the Advent and made their way into the city. They took a cab into the downtown core of the city where the Preventers regional headquarters and their apartment were.

They reached their home, a forty-storey highrise in the middle of the city, just a couple of blocks from the office. Their wrinkled uniforms and sea soaked duffle bags made them look rather out of place in the marble lobby of the building. But the security guards knew Wufei and Sally and welcomed them back with a familiar smile. The ride up the elevator was long and silent. They had been alert and on for so long, any break in the action was desperately taken advantage of. Afterall, Sally, less than 24 hours ago, had been on a sinking ship in the middle of the sea, desperately fighting for her life, and had just managed to escape with her life.

Wufei unlocked the door with his iris and his fingerprint. The door swing open and the both of them threw their bags down as soon as they got in.

Their apartment was a fully furnished modern condo unit with floor to ceiling windows that revealed a gorgeous view of the city. Not bad for a couple of government workers. They had been renting the place for the last several months but the two of them together had only spent a total combined time of around two weeks living in it. Work kept them busy and away from home for weeks at a time. What's more they rarely had the same days off so other than the weekend they moved in, they hadn't slept in the same bed since they got here.

Sally immediately took off her jacket, stripped off her shirt, and ran towards the bathroom.

"Don't take too long, we still have that meeting," Wufei said as he went into the kitchen to grab a drink of water.

"Jesus Christ, Wufei, can I just have a few minutes to take a shower?" Sally asked from the bathroom.

Sally looked at herself in the mirror. There was a strange compliment to the bruises of her skin to the colour of her bra. Her muscles were strained to the limit. She had lots a noticeable amount of weight during her time undercover. She gently touched her right collarbone and immediately winced at the pain. Wufei came into the bathroom and saw her standing there, examining her wounds.

"Hey," Wufei said softly.

Sally turned to look at Wufei. He held in one hand a shot glass and in his other a bottle of vodka. He handed the shot glass to her and filled it up. Sally offered a conciliatory smile and shot the whole thing in one gulp. She let out a deep relaxing breath before opening her eyes again.

"You don't have to come with me," Wufei said. "I can take the meeting myself."

"No no," Sally said. "I've known Une much longer than you've known her. She gets some crazy ideas sometimes. Someone needs to be there to talk her down."

"You don't think I can do that?"

"No are just crazy enough to go along with it," Sally said with a slight chuckle.

"I'm not the one that just sank a ship in the middle of the sea by myself," Wufei said as he took a swig from the bottle.

Sally chuckled a bit. "God, is this what our lives are? I thought it was supposed to get easier after the war."

"You live what you know," Wufei said. "And hey, this place isn't half bad."

"If only we had more time to actually live here," Sally said as she took the bottle from Wufei and took swig.

Wufei and Sally silently stood in the bathroom of their condo, staring out at the lights of the city, passing back and forth the bottle for a few minutes more. This was their little reprieve, an oasis from the work and the life they had chosen for themselves. In the end, during war or peace, they were who they were and circumstance could do little to change that.

* * *

"It's a little loose around the shoulders but the length is right," Pagan said as he patted Heero down.

"Thank you, I'm sure this will be fine," Heero said.

Heero looked at himself in the mirror. He looked weird. He was wearing the old leather jacket of one of the long dead members of the Sanc Kingdom's Royal Family. Apparently the jacket he was wearing belonged to a brother of King Marticus, who would've been one of Relena's uncles. It had begun to snow just as they were preparing to leave and Relena insisted, despite Heero's constitution that he couldn't simply just wear a dress shirt out.

"You look very nice," Relena said.

Heero turned to look at her. She had just come down from her bedroom upstairs again, this time dressed like her usual diplomatic self, the pink blazer, the pants, and a pair of white heels, not quite as tall as the ones from the night before. Her hair was pulled back and tied together with her signature navy blue bow. She was herself again, all grown up. It seemed amazing to Heero, the way she could just turn it on and become the public version of herself that everyone knew.

"Are you sure you don't want a ride into the city?" Relena asked.

"No, I've got the motorcycle," Heero said. "And I don't think it's a good idea for you to be seen with me right now."

"So you saw the news reports," Relena said with a defeated sigh.

"I did read a few of them while you were in the shower," Heero said with a slight hint of amusement in his voice.

"Oh god," Relena said. "That wasn't the way I wanted for you to find out."

"It's fine, Relena," Heero said. "I've been called a lot worse than an unknown man with a motorcycle."

"I know how much your privacy means to you."

"Relena, it's okay. Don't worry about it," he said as he took her hand.

"I'm still holding you to your promise," Relena said for a moment sounding rather petulant. "This doesn't change anything."

"I know," Heero said reassuringly. "I'll see you for lunch."

Heero placed a kiss on Relena's cheek before leaving through the front door. Relena watched him from the window next to the door as he mounted his motorcycle and sped off. She felt a pang of sadness, she already missed him. But his promise gave her hope and even inspired her. It was a Saturday and she had to head to the capital for an emergency meeting with her boss, not to mention all the media attention she was getting right now. Still, knowing that at the end of the day she would get to see Heero again made it all worth it.

Pagan pulled her limousine around just a few moments later. Her ride into Brussels was quiet and contemplative. So much had happened within the last 24 hours, she barely had any chance to process it. Thoughts battled for her attention as she stared out the window of the vehicle as she watched winter's first snowfall blanketed the landscape in white. She enjoyed her moment of respite, she knew it would not last.

* * *

 _The Valknut_

Heero parked his motorcycle in the underground parking facility just to avoid contact with the protesters and journalists that have flooded the streets of the capital in the wake of Relena's speech in Parliament. Making his way into The Valknut and through security, he immediately noticed the not so subtle glances of the security guards and receptionists. News travels fast in Brussels.

The Valknut was a large complex of steel, glass, and concrete construction. Three sections shaped roughly like triangular prisms stood tall and intertwined into the shape that gives it its name. Its construction began during the last month's of the Eve Wars, and was originally intended to be used as the new headquarters of the Earth Sphere Unified Nation's Armed Forces. But as the armistice was signed and the Preventers was established, the building was repurposed to act as the headquarters of the new organization.

He made his way up to the fifth floor and followed the instructions of the receptionist and found his way to the conference room. Heero had never been on this floor before. He scanned his key card and provided his retina for further identification before the door unlocked. He found himself in a dimly lit room with no windows, wood panelling on the walls, and a flag of ESUN in the left corner of the room, and the flag of the Preventers in the right. In the center was a large round conference table with a projector in the middle, presumably providing the information for this rather impromptu meeting.

He was greeted by Director Une, a woman, presumably her assistant, Sally, and Wufei. It took Heero a second to notice that Sally and Wufei were holograms.

"I'm glad you could make it on such short notice," Director Une said as she reached out to shake his hand.

"So this isn't about what happened last night," Heero said as he shook her hand.

"We can talk about that later," Director Une said as she returned to her side of the conference room. She gestured to the woman standing beside her. "This is Hope de Vries, Deputy Director of the Global Clandestine Division, she'll be running this operation. And you know already know Sally Po and Chang Wufei."

"What's up Heero? You're looking upbeat, did you have a good night?" Sally said with a hint of a smirk as she folded her arms across her chest.

"Does everyone know?" Heero said in his usual flat tone.

"Yes, everybody knows," Director Une said curtly. "Can we get back to business?"

"What business?" Heero asked as he took a seat in one of the empty chairs.

Hope tapped on her tablet and dimmed the lights until nothing was visible but the large screen at the far end of the room.

"Several weeks ago, Preventer Agent Water, infiltrated a splinter cell of the remnant of the Barton Foundation operating in the South Pacific," Hope announced to the whole room as he changed the slide. "She tracked an illegal shipment of a Serpent mobile suit, commandeered the transport vessel, and sunk said vessel at sea, along with its cargo."

"That was reckless," Heero commented.

"How about a little leeway for us mere mortals?" Sally asked sarcastically.

"Agent Water did manage to take several of the crew prisoner before the ship capsized and sank," Hope continued. "From interviews with one of the crew members, we ascertained that their contact was someone inside of the multinational shipping conglomerate, Lucio Internationale."

 _Lucio Internationale_ , he knew why he was here now. You couldn't live in Buenos Aires for as long as he did without at least cursorily coming across one of the largest corporations in the city. He could still vividly remember the shining glass cylinder that was their headquarters and how it blended in so perfectly with the rest of the city's skyline. Heero recalled how often he would see that white block text of the company's logo on trucks and ships everywhere in the city. He had even once hijacked a shipment of luxury cars from one of their tankers. But his connection to the corporation was tenuous at best. He had stolen from them once or twice but had never worked for them, nor did he know anyone inside the company.

"We don't know who," Hope said as she switched to the next slide. "We do not have a complete personnel manifest, but of none of the executives in the company have any public ties to the Barton Foundation whatsoever."

"Right," Heero said. "But what do you want from me?"

"Personnel and other sensitive information of the company cannot be accessed from the outside. There is a hardened firewall between the outside networks and their internal servers. Unfortunately, the Preventers regional station is rather understaffed and we have no high level connections within the organization," Hope continued. "We were hoping to use your underworld connections in the region to get one of our operatives into the building to establish a data link."

"Your approach is flawed," Heero said.

"Excuse me?"

"My criminal contacts will only have access to lower level employees and will not be able to get your men close to Lucio's internal server farms," Heero explained. "Cultivating trust and establishing a relationship with any of my contacts will take months at the very least. You cannot afford that time."

"You could make the introduction," Hope suggested.

"I don't know your men," Heero said. "I won't vouch for anyone I don't know."

"Well that's just plain rude." The voice was familiar. "Three years, a couple of wars, a countless dead men later, and you still pretend to not know me?"

Heero turned around.

Heero wasn't sure what he was expecting when he saw him. It had been two year. He hadn't changed much at all. Still covering up his nihilism with that devil-may-care smile, still wearing his hair in a ridiculously long braid, Duo Maxwell was still Duo Maxwell.

"Long time no see, Heero," he said as he made his way over to the table.

"Duo," Heero replied.

Heero stood up and shook the Duo's hand. It was a little awkward but Duo appreciated the gesture. He figured it was as much as he was gonna get out of Heero. In his mind, the handshake was tantamount to a big friendly hug. Sally and Wufei tried to contain their laughter and cringe at the sight of the two's greeting.

"Sorry, I'm late, everybody," Duo said as he took a seat next to Heero. "Traffic was a nightmare."

"We were just discussing operational conditions and the objective," Hope explained.

"Would you like us to start over?" Director Une asked pointedly.

"No need, I read the brief on my way here," Duo said.

"You got mission notes?" Heero asked.

"Duo has been working closely with the Preventers since the end of the Barton Insurrection," Director Une explained.

"What happened to the salvaging business?" Heero asked.

"It's still going," Duo answered as he put his feet up on the table and leaned back in his chair. "How do you think I help these guys out?"

"Duo occasionally does business with Lucio," Director Une said. "That's why he's here. He will provide infil/exfil."

"How big is your team?" Heero asked.

"Four, former OZ special forces," Hope said.

"That's too many," Heero said. "You'll never get anywhere near the target area. This isn't a military compound, burly men with thick beards will not go unnoticed for very long."

"What do you suggest?" Hope asked derisively.

"Two operatives at the most," Heero answered. "Working independently. Separate objectives. Higher chance of making it through the building without raising any suspicion. This way you can tap the facility's servers but also gain access to the executives' personal hard drives which will most definitely be kept separate from the internal network."

"What you're suggesting is impossible—"

"I agree with Heero," Duo chimed in. "Four is too rowdy. No point going in all guns blazing when we're just trying to gain access to their porn stash."

"Two fake credentials are a lot easier to forge than four," Director Une added. "It would take less time too."

"Ma'am, I'm concerned about the realism—"

"Hey, if your guys can't handle the heat, we can do it, can't we, Heero?" Duo said as he looked over at Heero.

Heero leaned back into his chair and closed his eyes. His stoic demeanour was his way of agreeing with Duo without actually dating the words. It was a cryptic way of communicating to be sure, but luckily he was amongst friends who knew him and his unique mannerisms.

"Are you sure?" Director Une asked. "This is Lucio's international headquarters, security will be tight."

"Can't be any harder than an OZ military installation," Heero said.

* * *

 _Department of Foreign Affairs_

"You'd think the statement itself would've been quite enough, but no, why not throw more fuel to the fire?!" Egert Brandt rambled on loudly as he stared out the window of his office. "What were you thinking, Miss Relena?"

"If I ever let a man-"

"This isn't about the dress and you know it," Egert cut her off before she could deploy her usual bag of rhetorical tricks. "Although it certainly didn't help."

He was a quick wit. And much more capable than his demeanour and stature would suggest. Egert Brandt was the Foreign Minister of the Earth Sphere Unified Nation, the head of the Department of Foreign Affairs, and Relena's immediate superior. He was in his mid-60's, grey haired, with a slightly slouch and a slight limp in his walk, and was just a few years from retiring. He had spent the war as a diplomatic liaison between the various factions of Earth, gathering allies, and maintaining the intricate web of alliances that allowed Treize to wage war in space. Having been a lifelong civil servant, Egert was well acquainted with Relena's father and considered him to be a friend. After the death of the late Vice-Foreign minister and seeing the quick rise of Relena under the tutelage of Dermail, after the end of the war, he made it a point to take Relena under his wing, lest she be corrupted by the influence of less honorable political types.

Their relationship was tumultuous but ultimately friendly, even loving. Relena's bright-eyed ideas about Total Pacifism had always meshed poorly with Egert's pragmatic style of diplomacy. Through years of tough lessons and after many shouting matches, Relena had learned to temper part of her natural enthusiasm in favour of sober political skill. For his part, he learned to see the world once again through the hopeful eyes of youth, and tried to be less fatalistic in his approach to his work. But for all of their differences, both in temperament and outlook, they respected and trusted each other immensely. He was as close to a father figure as she had in the world. But Egert never treated Relena with kid gloves, to him, she had always been her equal and never underestimated her.

"I say what I believe," Relena said with a sigh and shrug. Feeling rather small, sitting in the chair, facing Egert's desk.

"That's the last defense of a girl without a coherent argument," he said softly. "Just tell me you understand what kind of bind this puts me in."

"You, out of all people, must agree that those houses are a ridiculous waste of space. Gaudy monstrosities, monuments to an age of corrupt aristocratic privilege and an brutal military oppression," Relena said.

"Oh enough with the highfalutin words," Egert said dismissively. "You aren't running for office… yet.

"The point is…" Relena said with a softer tone of voice. "I know you. You don't care about those houses."

"Of course I don't," Egert said as he spun around to finally face Relena. "They are ridiculous displays of outlandish wealth. Good riddance for the city trying to get rid of them. But that's not what we do here. You don't work for the city government. You work for me. And I'm telling you to stay out of it."

"There's a shortage of housing after the war, lots of refugees and dislocated citizens," Relena said. "Those people are part of my job."

Egert leaned against his desk, rubbed the bridge of his nose with his fingers and winced. "Relena, Relena, Relena. I know you want to save everybody. That's what makes you so effective. But that's not the job. We're here to try and maintain the relationships between all of the territorial governments of Earth and the colonies. That requires a certain… macro approach. We deal can't involve ourselves in every little dispute. And the municipal politicians wouldn't appreciate that either."

"Look, I didn't speak on behalf of the Department," Relena said. "I was speaking as a citizen and…"

"And what?" Egert asked with a certain satisfied grin on his face.

"A member of the former aristocracy," Relena said with a petulant sigh.

"There it is," Egert said as he returned to his chair behind the desk. "I don't doubt your intentions in this matter. In fact, I think they are admirable. But you're stretched too thin as it is. Doing your job here, attending university, jumping on motorcycles and going on wild goose chases with the paparazzi—"

"That's not what it looks like," Relena interjected.

"Hey, you do whatever you want on your off time, you're a big girl, I expect you to make good decisions, I feel like that goes without saying," Egert said as he reached into his desk and pulled out a cigar, a stack of files, and a portable hard drive. "But remember, you represent not only this Department but the World Government itself. I'm not saying you can't have fun… just keep things in perspective."

Relena simply nodded.

"Now, I didn't call you into the city on a Saturday to chew you out," Egert said as he slid the files and hard drive over to her. "Although, you most definitely deserved it. These are the relevant files related to the next month's negotiations with the delegates from the British Isles. Read up on it, I want to know what your recommendations are by next week."

Relena looked down at the massive stack of papers, and the even larger stack that was no doubt contained on that hard drive. A daunting task in any circumstance, at least midterms were over so she had a week free to focus. "I thought those negotiations weren't until after the new year?"

"Yes well, I get the feeling that Ireland and Scotland are keen to form their own territorial governments, separate from London, before the next general election," Egert said as he sunk deeper into his chair and chopped his cigar.

"There's no smoking in the building," Relena said as she pulled the top file from the pile and began to flip through it. "I can't imagine the Supreme Assembly would go for that."

"The Supreme Assembly sees this as an opportunity," Egert said as he tossed the cigar onto his desk.

"How so?" Relena asked without averting her gaze from the file. "Increasing the number of seats in the Lower Chamber can only lead to more legislative deadlock."

"I'm sure they think the a newly formed Scottish and Irish territorial government will be more amenable to the Assembly's long term goals," Egert said. "Provided the right incentives. This can be an opportunity for you as well, Relena."

"And how is that?" Relena asked sounding only half interested.

"That terraformation project of yours isn't anyone's favourite," Egert said. "Even some of the colonies are beginning to sour on it. But if you play your cards right… You may yet be the architect of the Martian colonization effort."

"After such a terrifying series of wars, you'd think people who have higher aspirations than naked power and glory," Relena commented with a hint of derision in her voice.

"They might even build a statue of you on Mars for your part in terraforming the planet," Egert remarked.

"I wouldn't want it."

"The war may be over, dear Relena," Ebert said as he picked up the cigar from his desk once again and sniffed it. "But politics never ends."

* * *

 _Director Une's Office, The Valknut_

"If you tell me they are capable of pulling this off then I believe you," Hope said as she sat on the couch in the far corner of the office, still reviewing the notes from the meeting. "But I have my concerns. One of them seems completely unqualified, both in appearance and temperament. And the other one seems like a sociopath."

"Oh… I guess they do come off that way don't they," Une said with a hint of a smile.

Hope returned her attention to her laptop. She tried to make sense of the plan that the two men from the meeting had hatched. Duo, the long haired one was rattling off ideas left and right, some of them decent but most of them completely insane, all the while, Heero, the quiet and seemingly more serious one, did nothing but occasionally nod at Duo's insane suggestions. What baffled her the most was Director Une's silence. Not only did she listen to their ideas, she seemed to be taking them seriously.

Hope was born into a military family. Her older brothers had both served in the Alliance as mobile suit pilots. One of them even became a Special. War was in her blood. She had served as an operations officer under the Alliance South American Command. She served with distinction and was promoted by General Treize himself on the personal recommendation of Brigadier General Une. In many ways she was a younger version of Une, with all of her quiet tenacity and unwavering attention to detail. She wore her dark brown her in a bob, always kept her uniform pressed, and smiled as infrequently as possible.

"Just who are they exactly?" Hope asked as she came upon a restriction when trying to access Duo and Heero's files.

Une let out a deep breath and turned to her laptop. "Alright, I suppose if you're going to be commanding these guys. You should know who they are."

Hope stood up and walked over to Director Une's desk. She sat down across the desk from her superior. Director Une transferred the classified documents from her laptop to the holographic projector that emitted beams of light from underneath the glass surface of her desk. Hope sat silently and carefully read the text of the classified document.

"Oh my god…" Hope whispered. "These are the guys?"

Director Une nodded.

"They're so young, they must've been just teenagers during the war…" Hope said as she read their files rapidly. "It was them all along? How is this possible?"

"You skipped past it. Scroll up," Une said from the other side of the holographic projection. "Read Heero's history prior to Operation Meteor."

* * *

Relena left her meeting with the Foreign Minister a little rattled. There weren't many men in Brussels who could make her feel like a petulant child. Her early trials against the likes of Treize, Dermail, and even her own brother had taught her out to handle the egos of men. Diplomat or military types, they were all essentially the same. Their fatal weakness was that they never took her seriously. They never saw the subtle power of Relena's eloquence and the ineffable grace of her sincerity. They either saw her as docile and incapable or capable but naϊve or stupid. There was always an aspect of her character that they missed, something they didn't anticipate or refused to see in her.

Egert was different. He saw her for what she was. He saw her strength and her incredible talent, but he also saw her youth and the shortcuts that she tended to take. Relena took a moment to herself to calm down and reorient her mind. Her day was officially over but she needed to mentally prepare for the massive amount of work that was coming her way. The negotiations with the British delegation wasn't something she was willing to go into unprepared. She didn't like the stench of politics over these meetings but she recognized that as the world settles into this new peace, politics would take the place of war and however personally distasteful that was to her, it was the new reality. And for all of the venom and bile of politics, it was still preferable to war.

She began to walk towards her office when Cindy and Augusta came charging around the corner towards her.

"It's okay guys, I'm fine," Relena said reassuringly.

"Yeah… don't care about your meeting with the old man," Augusta said in her usual frank way. "We gotta talk about what happened last night."

"I am so done talking about what happened last night," Relena said as she started to march towards her office.

"You might be, but everyone else has just begun to talk about it," Cindy said as she held out her tablet at Relena with the morning's headlines. "Look!"

"Yeah, I already saw those," Relena told Cindy as she threw up her hands in surrender. "What can I do?"

"You have to make a statement," Augusta cut in. "You can't just ride off on the back of a motorcycle with some random boy! It's unbecoming of the Princess of the Sanc Kingdom!"

"Oh, so now I'm the Princess of the Sanc Kingdom?" Relena asked sarcastically. "Funny how I'm the Princess of the Sanc Kingdom only when it suits you."

"It doesn't suit me! It suits the narrative," Augusta countered as they reached Relena's office. She reached over to open the glass door for Relena. " _Runaway princess! Who's her knight in chrome armor?!_ "

"Did someone write that?" Relena asked as she grabbed her white winter trench coat from the couch. "That's a terrible headline."

"No I just made it up off the top of my head and yes it is terrible. But that's not the point!" Augusta said. "That's all of the headlines! They're all that bad!"

"I'm getting requests for interviews from everyone," Cindy said, sounding rather panicked. "The Brussels Times, The World News Network, Vanity Fair, Vogue, The Colonists, The Guardian, The Celestial Report, New Horizons, The New Century Prospect, Playboy!"

"I'm not giving an interview to Playboy…" Relena said with a roll of her eyes. "I'm not doing interviews period. I just got a verbal spanking from Egert for being too loud."

"We have to say something," Augusta protested. "We can't let the media control the narrative here. It's too big."

"Guys," Relena said with an emphatic pause as she threw her coat over her shoulders. "Breathe. I have to prepare for a meeting with a British delegation that's been moved up by several months. Not to mention my monthly coordinator's meeting with the guys over at the terraformation project. I've got enough on my hands without the stupid media."

"Yeah, that's another thing!" Augusta went on. "What are we going to do about that impromptu campaign speech that you pulled in Parliament yesterday?!"

"I think I was pretty clear on that," Relena joked.

"That's not funny," Augusta said.

"I thought it was kinda funny," Cindy said.

"You're not helping," Augusta said.

"Perhaps that you should be your new gimmick. Tell jokes."

It took Relena a few moments to recognize the voice. It had been so long since they last met. Relena had spotted her in the crowd of the armistice address after the end of the Mariemaia's rebellion but never got a chance to speak to her. The last time they spoke was when they were on Libra. She was Milliardo's second in command back then. What a foolish girl she had been, wearing that army green uniform so proudly. But Relena supposed she had been naïve as well. There was a part of her that truly believed that disaster could be averted. She wanted so badly to spare Heero that final battle with her brother.

Dorothy Catalonia walked into Relena's office slowly, her black leather heels clicking against the tiled floor. Cindy and Augusta watched speechless as this unknown blonde entered so fearlessly and confidently into the office of the Vice Foreign Minister. They didn't know who she was, but instinctively they understood her to be formidable.

"Hello, Relena," Dorothy said.

"Dorothy," Relena said.

"May I have a word?" she asked politely.

Relena nodded to the two girls, signalling to them that she would like some privacy with her guest. Hesitant but not wanting to disobey Relena, the girls quietly retreated out into the hall and closed the door behind them. Dorothy looked over her shoulder and gave the girl's a little wave.

"It's been quite a busy day for you, hasn't it?" Dorothy asked, as she returned her attention to Relena.

"What do you want, Dorothy?" Relena asked directly, although not aggressively.

"Can't I drop by to see an old friend?" Dorothy asked, feigning innocence.

"No one just drops by here," Relena said. "Do you have a visitor's pass?"

Dorothy reached into the breast pocket of her black trench coat and handed Relena her visitor badge. Relena took a look at it. It looked like a real badge but knowing Dorothy, Relena wouldn't put it past the girl to enter the building with a forgery. In any case, it didn't matter. She handed the badge back to Dorothy.

"I'm very busy, Dorothy," Relena said sternly.

"Of course you are," Dorothy said. "That's why I'm here. I want to be your Chief of Staff."

* * *

Heero and Duo cleared out of the conference room after the meeting had ended. However, Duo insisted on catching up with everyone and found them another room for them to talk. Duo found an empty office down the hall from their original conference room.. It was small room with a couch and a desk. There was a window that faced outward towards the street. Heero looked outside. He could see some scattered protesters and police. He wondered how much worse it must've been at Relena's office. Duo had stolen the holographic projector from the conference room and hooked it up to the power supply and computer in the room and booted it up.

After fiddling around with the device for a couple of minutes, Duo finally managed to get everything set up. He turned on the projector and punched in the username and password into the computer and a few moments later, Wufei and Sally appeared in the room.

"Finally," Sally said. "We were just about the leave the office."

"Sorry, technical difficulties," Duo said as he scratched the back of his head.

"Hey Heero," Sally said.

Heero turned his attention away from the window and sat down in the office chair before Duo could.

"Sally, Wufei," Heero said plainly.

"So what did you guys think of my plan?" Duo asked.

"It's doable," Wufei said.

"It's not very elegant but I suppose that's not what's needed right now," Sally added.

"Heero?" Duo asked.

"I have no objections," Heero replied.

"Look at you, being all agreeable and shit," Duo said with a wide grin. "You're not going soft on me, are ya?"

"It's a simple infiltration mission to gain access to a private network," Heero commented. "Minimal security presence, no mobile suits, hardly the most exciting mission ever."

"Yeah, I got the itch too," Duo admitted.

"I don't have _the itch_ ," Heero said.

"Right, you got that other itch," Duo said as he arched his eyebrow at Heero.

Opting to ignore Duo's obvious jab at no doubt, some ridiculous headline he had read this morning on the way into the city, Heero asked, "so how come you guys aren't on this?"

"Unfortunately, we've been a little loud over the last couple of months," Wufei explained. "Our activities in the South Pacific have made us a known quantity. Whoever is coordinating this knows about me and Sally. We'd be made right away."

"So you are sure about the intel," Heero asked.

"Positive," Sally replied.

"How?" Heero asked.

"I trust the kid, he's just like you guys," Sally answered.

"We're a bunch of murderers and thieves," Duo said.

"I know, but I know when you guys are telling the truth," Sally replied.

Heero received a buzz on his phone. He took it out of his pocket to check the notification. It was a text message from Relena.

"Who's that?" Duo asked with a knowing smile.

"Yeah Heero, who's that?" Sally asked.

"Yeah, who's that?" Wufei asked.

"Shut up," Heero said as he got up and walked to the corner of the room.

 _In a meeting with an old friend, can we turn lunch into dinner?_

* * *

 _Sure._

Her heart lifted and immediately sank again after she received his reply. She definitely would've been at least an hour late considering the traffic just outside of the building. And the last thing she wanted to do was stand him up. They had made quite a mess last night and it would've been foolish for her to assume that there would be no fallout. How different she felt now, sitting in her uncomfortable work clothes, feeling the still air of her air conditioned office compared to the crisp cold of rural Vustgaarde and her fabulous if a little too risque party attire from the night before. Sometimes she felt like two separate people inhabiting one body. Still, there was a part of her that wished she could put all of this aside, the negotiations, the tabloid stories, Dorothy, just to finish what they had started last time.

"Was that lover boy?" Dorothy asked, as she leaned against Relena's desk. "You know it took you guys way too long. It was so obvious right from the beginning."

"Dorothy, I don't need a Chief of Staff," Relena said, opting to ignore Dorothy's verbal jabs.

"Really? You could've fooled me," Dorothy said as she leaned back against her chair. "Because unless I'm mistaken, I walked in on you and your assistant and your publicist arguing in circles. You need someone to create order."

"And what makes you think that someone is going to be you?" Relena cocked her head and asked with a devilish grin.

"My my, haven't you grown up fast," Dorothy said sounding rather impressed. "But face it Relena, between school, work, and that circus outside. You could stand to delegate."

"I think Cindy and Augusta are doing just fine," Relena said.

"Oh, I don't mean to suggest that they aren't," Dorothy said. "I just mean you need someone to unify their scattered efforts, to present a clear vision forward."

"And what's in it for you?" Relena asked.

"Whatever do you mean?" Dorothy asked.

"Dorothy, I've known you long enough," Relena said, revealing that grin once again. "And I'm not the naïve girl you met back in the Sanc Kingdom anymore. I know you and you always have an ulterior motive. So I'll ask you again, what do you want?"

Dorothy stared directly into Relena's eyes for a moment, reading her. Relena held her gaze undeterred. Even after all these years, there was still a certain familiarity between them, a comradery of women who survived the war. Both knew each other's games so well now that the pretense almost seemed comical, Dorothy's cryptic dialect, Relena's faux-innocence, but it was just how they were. That was their rapport.

"Alright," Dorothy said finally. "The general election is next year, I want to run for office."

"I think that's great," Relena said genuinely. "What does that have to do with me?"

"I'm a Catalonia, that name doesn't count for much these days," Dorothy said. "My father was the architect of OZ, my grandfather was the face of Romefeller until the end."

"Chilias and Dermail made their choices," Relena said. "That has nothing to do with you."

"If only the public was as reasonable as you, Miss Relena," Dorothy said. "Unfortunately, that's not how the world works."

"So what do you want, to be my Chief of Staff for a year? Build your credentials?" Relena asked.

"Have some of that Darlian magic rub off on me, yeah, I wouldn't mind," Dorothy said with a shrug.

Relena considered Dorothy's proposal for a moment. It certainly sounded plausible. Dorothy always did have a taste for power and given the right circumstances, Relena figured that Dorothy could be an effective leader in public life. Noin had told her about Dorothy's role during the Mariemaia Insurrection and she had to admit, it was quite impressive. Still, the girl was not without her demons, regardless of who her father and grandfather were.

"Look Dorothy, I can't give you an answer right now," Relena said as she clasped her hands together on her desk. "But I promise I'll think about it."

"That's more than fair," Dorothy said as she closed her eyes in resignation.

Dorothy got stood up first, followed by Relena. They shook hands. Dorothy turned towards the door.

"Oh, one bit of free advice," Dorothy said as she looked over her shoulder.

"What's that?" Relena asked.

"Do an interview. One interview… with…" Dorothy thought about it for a second. "With Vogue."


End file.
